Kengo Kuma tucks Japanese student hub under wooden bleachers

A sloped roof lined with wooden bleachers and plants conceals the student hub that Japanese studio Kengo Kuma and Associates has created for the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Named the Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza, the building sits partially below ground and is intended to emulate a landform or river delta "that spills into the campus" of the Japanese university.

Kengo Kuma and Associates has designed a student hub for Tokyo Tech

Kengo Kuma and Associates designed the building to support student interaction, incorporating spaces for co-learning, workshops and support services.

Positioned at the main entrance to the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), the studio hopes that it will become a campus landmark.

The building is partly submerged underground

"This building stands near the main gate of Tokyo Tech and is a new landmark of the campus," explained the architect in charge Toshiki Meijo.

"The idea was to make the building look like a landform in order to harmonise it with the slopes scattered around the campus and the surrounding buildings," Meijo told Dezeen.

The roof is covered in bleachers that double as steps

Inside, the Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza contains three storeys above ground and two below.

However, the bulk of the building is positioned underground, disguised by the wooden bleachers that cascade over it. The other parts of the building that are visible above ground are kept minimal with a glazed or white-painted finish.

A second external staircase is mirrored inside

Kengo Kuma and Associates' decision to submerge most of the building below ground was to retain views of the campus' clock tower.

"The clock tower is the oldest building in Tokyo Tech and is a true symbol of the campus," Meijo explained. "The visibility of this clock tower is defined as important in the campus masterplan."

The staircase helps blur the boundary between inside and out

Access is provided by a staircase that descends one side of the building, and a second that forms part of the roof and leads up to a small terrace on the building's first floor.

The inaccessible parts of the roof are cordoned off and lined with plants. According to the studio, these plants match the greenery outside of the adjacent building called Library Hill.

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Kengo Kuma & Associates has accentuated the stepped form of the building internally by inserting three staggered floors of workspace beneath the rising pitch of the roof.

The external staircase that descends into the building is also mirrored inside, helping to blur the boundary between interior and exterior landscape.

A pared-back material palette features inside

Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza's small upper levels are designed as an open and continuous space that "flows ambiguously without clear spatial divisions", according to the studio.

This is helped with the material palette of pared-back white furnishings and wood-lined floors that runs throughout.

There are three levels of workspaces above ground

Kengo Kuma and Associates was founded in 1990 by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The studio also recently completed mountain-shaped toilets for hiking trail overlooking Mount Fuji and is designing a contemporary entrance to gothic cathedral in Angers.

Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza is the latest in a string of underground buildings recently featured on Dezeen, with other examples including a subterranean art gallery in China by Foster + Partners and an "invisible villa" in Norway by CF Møller Architects.

The photography is courtesy of Kengo Kuma and Associates.

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"I would like to think that my ethics may continue" says Richard Rogers

In the penultimate video from a series that we filmed in 2013 with Richard Rogers, the late British architect reflects on his career and legacy.

Rogers, who passed away on 18 December aged 88 was one of the world's best-known architects, best known for his pioneering high-tech architecture.

Among his most recognisable work is the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which he designed with Italian architect Renzo Piano and the Lloyd's building in London.

For the video series, the Pritzker Architecture Prize winner spoke to Dezeen from the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners studio in west London.

In this interview, filmed in 2013 to coincide with a retrospective of his work at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Rogers argues that shifts in societal attitudes over the past 50 years have changed the course of the profession.

He also reflected on his personal career highlights which include creating a collaborative architecture studio.

Read on for a transcript of the interview below:

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"I'm proud of the fact that I've been able and been fortunate to work with lots of fantastic colleagues. Right now, I've changed the name of the firm so that it's Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners because, at 80, you can see an end will be coming.

"But I would like to think that my ethics – going back to the Royal Academy exhibition and the ethos of it – may continue. We have a constitution where the partners gave up their ownership. We only do certain types of work and that has created a certain team spirit.

"So I'm proud of all those things and I'm proud about the fact that I have been able to live at a time when I've been able to make use of my abilities.

It's very exciting, it's very dynamic – something which was impossible before

"On one side, Britain has now very good architects, very good modern architects. And you could argue there's no nation that has better.

"The Pritzker Prize, which is sort of sometimes talked about as the Nobel Prize of architecture, there's probably more architects who've got more Pritzker per population in England than anywhere else. Maybe Japan would be the competitor. So the architecture is there.

"Political interest has never been much and every now and then you get a bit of a flare. And I certainly have tried to work on it.

"I work in the House of Lords and I usually participate when there are things about the built environment. And in one way it is better. I mean, if you go to the City of London it is pretty good.

"I was coming out the other day from the Design Museum on the other side of Tower Bridge and I thought I was in New York with all these towers and lights on.

"Now I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it's very exciting, it's very dynamic – something which was impossible before.

Read:

Architects and creatives remember "superstar" architect Richard Rogers

"In my generation, every architect that left school went to work for a school department, hospital department, housing department, local county council, education establishments and so on. I don't believe one can say it's better or worse.

"Really, I'm going to say, 90 per cent of the students that I knew who left with me, they went to work, that would be natural. In other words, the idea was that you would build for the future.

We just had a horrible war and there was this very strong feeling, not by one party, by the way, possibly more than one party, about the welfare state. The state could be enriched by the way that we played out our abilities, our responsibilities.

It is much more an Age of Greed

"This has gone and it is much more an age of greed, especially in the sense of when we're wrestling with the economic crisis of the last years. It is very much about dog eat dog and the acceptance that it doesn't matter what you earn, you have no duty to society.

"And I think it's reflected in some of the things we do, I often point to Finland, where the teachers get the same money as surgeons. Of course, therefore, teachers are recognised in their important role.

"We [the British] don't. That goes throughout everything, it has nothing to do about architecture. That's about society.

"But it is a very exciting time and now we're looking at an international world and we weren't doing it 50 years ago.

"When I started doing architecture, Paris was pretty international, in the sense of going across the channel. Now, you know, we're fortunate we can make use of a much wider network of communication, and therefore change and adapt to that to that network.

"I wouldn't say that things are uglier, but we have to be very wary of protecting the public domain."

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Franchising gives architects "better balance between home life and profession" says Lisa Raynes

Dezeen promotion: joining an architecture practice franchise combines the independence of being self-employed with the support network of working for a company, according to architect Lisa Raynes.

Raynes founded the British franchise network Pride Road Architects in 2016 in a bid to give female architects a way to balance their practice with the demands of motherhood.

"The franchise concept is particularly attractive to mum architects because it offers support and camaraderie with the independence of having your own practice," said Raynes.

"I created Pride Road in order to share my knowledge and business model with any architects who would like to follow in my footsteps, to have a good income, take pride in their work, and have a much better balance between home life and their profession."

Lisa Raynes founded the Pride Road Architects franchise in 2016. Top artwork by Ben McPhee

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Raynes says a growing number of practitioners are now drawn to the idea of striking out on their own, in order to carve out more time for themselves and their families.

"This balance is attractive in the Covid economy to time-poor architects generally, not just to mums," she said.

As a franchising network, Pride Road allows architects to set up their own, local practice under the Pride Road umbrella, just like McDonald's allows qualified individuals to run their own McDonald's-branded restaurant.

Architects Magda Haener, Laura Simpkins, Sandy Hickey and Shuahra Rahman (left to right) run their Pride Road franchises with support from Lisa Raynes and Alan Varley.

In return for an up-front fee and a small percentage of their turnover, this means architects can buy into an established business model and make use of its resources, from a ready-made website and branding assets to in-house marketing and IT specialists.

"When starting up on your own you have to try and juggle all of these roles yourself," Raynes explained.

"But, as part of the wider Pride Road brand with shared resources, you can relax knowing that these things are covered and that you have someone to refer to for questions and support when needed."

The franchise provides architecture services to homeowners

At the same time, she says owning a franchise gives architects the freedom to organise their own work week around school or caring commitments, with some Pride Road franchisees even taking off an entire month during the summer holidays.

This flexibility is particularly important to Raynes, who was prompted to launch her first practice Raynes Architecture after being made redundant while on maternity leave.

"Those architects with caring responsibilities, especially those home-schooling during the 2020 lockdowns, face particular difficulties in balancing professional and home life," she said.

"So, the origin of Pride Road Architects is rooted in the refusal to accept that women architects need to put up with pay and career advancement disparities. It's rooted in the recognition that women architects have the ambition and the appetite for their own practices but they also welcome being part of a group."

Regular Franchise Development Days contribute to franchisees' CPD goals

The business model that Raynes developed from scratch for her own practice now forms the basis for five Pride Road franchises around the UK, which offer architectural services to homeowners in areas from the New Forest and London to Cheshire.

Prospective franchisees can take charge of one of 155 defined territories around the country after participating in an onboarding course, including workshops on everything from business planning to finances and marketing in order to ensure coherence and quality standards across the network.

Each member of the network runs their own franchise

Regular Franchise Development Days help architects with their continued professional development (CPD), as well as providing additional support and networking opportunities.

Find out more about the Pride Road Franchise by booking a Discovery Call, listening to the Architecture in the Den podcast, or visiting its website.

The photography is by Phil Tragen unless otherwise stated.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Pride Road Franchise as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Detalji bench by Jenni Roininen for Nikari

Dezeen Showroom: created by designer Jenni Roininen for Nikari, the Detalji bench is a warm minimalist piece with features woven from paper yarn.

Meaning "detail" in Finnish and representing a union between Finnish designers and manufacturers, the Detalji bench was made in collaboration with paper yarn specialists Woodnotes.

The Detalji bench features details made of paper yarn by the brand Woodnotes

Both brands value natural wood materials, craftsmanship and minimalist design — principles that they embedded in Detalji.

The bench's seat is covered in Woodnotes's Woodpecker fabric, designed by Ritva Puotila, and spun and woven from undyed paper. Additional paper yarn is tied around each end of the bench to make a complementary detail.

The Finnish brands collaborated to create a minimalist piece that was warm and made of all-natural materials

"My idea was to create a timeless design that lasts in use for centuries to come," said Roininen.

Detalji is made of solid, sustainably grown oak wood and features Nikari's signature joinery techniques. It is made without any synthetic ingredients, to avoid environmental harm.

Product: Detalji
Designer: Jenni Roininen
Brand: Nikari
Contact: sales@nikari.fi

About Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Watch part three of the AHEAD Global 2021 hospitality awards

The winners of the AHEAD Global 2021 hospitality design awards are being announced in a series of virtual ceremonies broadcast on Dezeen. Watch the third part above.

The events are hosted by Sleeper Magazine's editor-at-large Guy Dittrich and feature imagery of the AHEAD nominees, as well as content from the sponsors of the awards programme.

The Pater Noster Lighthouse in Sweden is one of the hotels nominated for an AHEAD Global 2021 award

The AHEAD Awards celebrate striking hospitality projects from across the world and is split into four different regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia and the Americas.

The AHEAD Global awards represent the finale of the programme of regional events in 2021, in which the winners are pitted against each other to determine the best recently-opened hotels worldwide.

Read:

Watch part two of the AHEAD Global 2021 hospitality awards

This year the winners are being announced over the course of four virtual ceremonies, taking place daily from 11 to 13 January with a final broadcast on 20 January in which the winners of the People's Choice and Ultimate Accolade awards will be revealed.

In today's ceremony, Dittrich announced the winners of the Restaurant, Spa & Wellness, Suite, Visual Identity and New Concept categories.

NoMad London is also nominated for an AHEAD Global 2021 award

On Tuesday, the winners of the Bar, Club or Lounge, Event Spaces, Guestrooms, Hotel Renovation & Restoration and Hotel Newbuild categories were revealed.

Yesterday, winners were unveiled in the Hotel Conversion, Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces, Lobby & Public Spaces, Lodges Cabins & Tented Camps, and Resort Hotel categories.

This ceremony was broadcast by Dezeen for AHEAD as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here. Images courtesy of AHEAD.

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