Photographer: Daici Ano | ArchDaily

Expo 2025 Osaka Pavilion null² / Noiz Architects

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 07:00:00 +0000

NOIZ has recently completed the architectural design of "null²," one of eight Signature Pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, produced by researcher/media artist Yoichi Ochiai. The Signature Pavilions have been planned as the thematic core of the current Expo, assigned to selected Japanese researchers and creators. The steel frame architecture is covered with metallic membranes that waver with the wind and reflect its surroundings, resembling a digital landscape in a futuristic physical world.

Retreat House / Arii Irie Architects

Miwa Negoro — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 21:00:00 +0000

The site was literally a gap between a typical detached house and an apartment, with only the width of a parking space, located in the suburbs of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The 2.5-meter-wide single-family house consists of a storage in the middle, and the floors adjacent to it are shifted by half a floor height.

Tokyu Kabukicho Tower / Yuko Nagayama & Associates + KUME SEKKEI Co. + Tokyu Architects & Engineers

Hana Abdel — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Yuko Nagayama & Associates designed the façade of Tokyu Kabukicho Tower - Over 4000 glass panels were printed on the surface to represent the fountain that was once there. This super high-rise building in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district, near Shinjuku Station, spans five basement floors and 48 stories aboveground and has a total floor area of approximately 87,400m2. The largest entertainment complex in Japan, the building contains a cinema, a theater, a live venue, and a host of other functions. We worked on the building’s exterior design and part of the interior design.

21 Projects Where Kengo Kuma (Re)Uses Materials in Unusual Ways

José Tomás Franco — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Kengo Kuma uses materials to connect with the local context and the users of his projects. The textures and elementary forms of constructive systems, materials, and products, are exhibited and used in favor of the architectural concept, giving value to the functions that will be carried out in each building.

From showcases made with ceramic tiles to the sifted light created by expanded metal panels, passing through an ethereal polyester coating, Kuma understands the material as an essential component that can make a difference in architecture from the design stages. Next, we present 21 projects where Kengo Kuma masterfully uses construction materials.

Design Depot: 30 Projects that Explore Diverse Storage Solutions

Dima Stouhi — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 07:30:00 +0000

With the rise of small houses and dense cities, we were forced to sacrifice a good amount of storage space. Ironically, we did not compromise our purchasing habits, so with a few square meters to work with, architects and designers had to come up with efficient storage solutions and make the best of the limited space they have. However, if you were lucky enough to be occupying a large, unobscured space with a generous budget, your storage design possibilities are endless. In this article, we look at how architects and designers found creative ways to store their belongings in spaces with different functions, scales, and spatial constraints, ranging from completely invisible units to sculptural centerpieces.

Christian Dior Designer of Dreams Exhibition / OMA

Paula Pintos — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 06:00:00 +0000

The House of Dior is built upon Christian Dior’s spirit of reinvention and global reach in fashion, a legacy that simultaneously persists and evolves with the contributions of individual creative directors. The scenography for Dior: From Paris to the World at the Denver Art Museum and Dallas Art Museum defined continuous narrative journeys—in each, a seamless path and unified backdrop for garments and artworks that reflected over 70 years of The House of Dior.

Tamagawa Takashimaya Grand Patio / Yuko Nagayama & Associates

Hana Abdel — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 20:00:00 +0000

Guided by a design concept of “Library & Art,” this renovation of a commercial building with a fifty-year history provides a place for community members to rest and relax. Our design transforms the spacious atrium into an intimate enclave that resembles a park in some places and a private library in others, offering opportunities for visitors to encounter books and art. Three primary elements compose the space: an assemblage of lights, shelves for encountering stories, and parklike greenery. Comprised of 669 bulbs and 1338 cords, the assemblage of lights is the most distinctive feature of the project. By varying the height of the suspended bulbs, we constructed four ceiling vaults between the columns. Bulbs are suspended like necklace pendants from two thin cords hung at convergent 40-degree angles.

Jins Park Maebashi / Yuko Nagayama & Associates

Bianca Valentina Roșescu — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Creating new community value in a suburban eyewear store. This store for the major eyewear brand JINS is located on a busy suburban thoroughfare. As online shopping becomes more common, physical stores must go beyond serving as places to handle or try on goods; they must also offer in-person experiences. Because this store is located close to a residential neighborhood with many young families, our concept was to create a park-like space where children and parents as well as others in the community can stop by to spend time even if they’re not buying glasses.

Culvert Guesthouse / nendo

Hana Abdel — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

A storage facility for archiving furniture, products, and artwork in Miyota-machi, Nagano Prefecture, with a guesthouse attached. Located in a quiet and nature-rich environment where streams weave through a thick forest of red pine, the tunnel-like architecture took shape through a combination of precast and prestressed construction methods.

Waseda University Honjo Senior High School Gymnasium / Nikken Sekkei

Bianca Valentina Roșescu — Mon, 23 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As this is a gymnasium of a high school affiliated with a leading private university in Japan, its design concept flows from how it should be portrayed as an educational facility. Generally speaking, gym windows are covered with blackout curtains when competitions are held. With this project, however, the aim was to create a gym allowing indirect natural light suitable for indoor exercises and blocking strong direct sunlight to afford a feel for the outside environment.

Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art / Tezzo Nishizawa Architects + Jun Aoki & Associates

Bianca Valentina Roșescu — Thu, 19 May 2022 03:00:00 +0000

The main building of the Kyoto City Museum of Art (renamed the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art) is the oldest public museum architecture that represents the Imperial Crown Style, the emerging architectural style that amalgamates the Japanese traditional architectural elements and the Western-styled buildings.

Best Architectural Projects of 2021

Clara Ott — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 07:30:00 +0000

More than 5000 new projects published throughout 2021 make ArchDaily the largest online architecture library in the world. ArchDaily Curatorial Team researches, contacts offices, prepares, and delivers the built projects in the world on a daily basis, with the objective of providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to our users who take part in the creation of better built environments.

TAKEHARA Shop / SUGAWARADAISUKE Architects

Hana Abdel — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 23:00:00 +0000

This is “TAKEHARA Shop” for head office, shop, communication space and event space for a new winery “SETOUCHI JOZOJO” in Takehara city, a famous traditional townscape area more than 350 years. The design target is to create a new grovel identity value with transforming local architectural identity of traditional materials and space formats.

SETOUCHI JOZOJO Winery and Restaurant / SUGAWARADAISUKE Architects

Hana Abdel — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 22:00:00 +0000

“SETOUCHI JOZOJO” is a winery and restaurant to reactivate local industries and culture with reconnecting food, culture and beautiful landscape.

Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art / Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects

Hana Abdel — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 22:00:00 +0000

The museum has been built in Hirosaki, located in western Aomori Prefecture, Northern Japan. The city is known for being the largest producer of apples in Japan.

Kanahebisui Shrine / Kazuya Saito Architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 22:00:00 +0000

It is a resting place open to the community, connecting visitors with the shrine. The shrine is located at the outlet of a valley where a stream with a bank in the mountains as its source flows into the plain. We wanted to incorporate the elements of the stream and the bank, the flow and the pool, into this building.

Overlap House / Akihisa Hirata

Hana Abdel — Mon, 17 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

How much can you let the nature of the city flow in - The idea of designing architecture like a natural environment has not changed since I have founded my own office but recently its way of thinking has changed a bit. Even though the soft form and the space containing the difference have the certain possibility, it seems that "naturalness" is considered as the degree of influx of things that cannot be controlled completely by others.

Nasushiobara City Library / Mari Ito + UAo

Hana Abdel — Thu, 13 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

This library and community center is located in the city of Nasushiobara, about 150 km north of Tokyo. The commission was awarded in a 2016 competition. Forests, an important part of the city’s identity, inspired the design. When we step into a forest, we sense the subtle yet constant changes in season, weather, and plant and animal life, absorbing these transformations in multiple emotionally powerful ways.