yasui hideo atelier: karuizawa museum complex

‘karuizawa museum complex’ by yasui hideo atelier in nagano-ken, japan all images courtesy yasui hideo atelier image © nacasa & partners inc

tokyo based architecture practice yasui hideo atelier has sent us images of ‘karuizawa museum complex’ in nagano-ken, japan. built next to ryue nishizawa‘s ‘hiroshi senju museum‘ (see our coverage here), the annex design seeks to achieve a visual contrast from the curvilinear facility by drawing from the traditional craft of origami.  

north elevation image © nacasa & partners inc

lying low to the ground, the single-level building exhibits  a series of folds and pleats in its overall form. the faceted surface creates a topography of its own, referencing the rolling peaks of the surrounding yatsugatake mountain. the angles and creases lend a sense of visual shift, changing the form of the complex from different vantage points. triangular windows clustered around the south facade provide a level of transparency to balance out the solid nature of the titanium exterior.

from above image © nacasa & partners inc

image © nacasa & partners inc

adjacent parking lot image © nacasa & partners inc

image © nacasa & partners inc

image © nacasa & partners inc

approach image © nacasa & partners inc

interior view of dining space image © nacasa & partners inc

shop image © nacasa & partners inc

night view image © nacasa & partners inc

sketch – elevations

sketch – plan

physical model

site and floor plan

section

section

south elevation

west elevation

project info:

site area: 8,330.42 m2 building area: 331.60 m2 total floor area: 423.51 m2 structure: steel structure

client: international cultural college foundation construction: sasazawa construction