Kanagawa Institute of Technology and Plaza

Description

The students' workshop at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology (KAIT) is located next to the campus’ central square. Within its slightly rhomboid 2,000 m2 footprint, four glazed façades and longitudinal roof lanterns,  the space is punctued by 305 rectangular fine columns. Each pillar has a different size and orientation, and seems to be randomly placed although the whole of pillars is perfectly calculated to look like a constellation and evoke the unplanned nature of a forest. In turn, along with the roof beams, the building has an excellent anti-seismic performance. The density of the pillars varies in different areas as well, meaning that the overall vision is at odds with the order of a grid, in which users can interpret the space of a system that does not divulge any control on the part of the architect. The different density, orientation and section of the pillars allows that the perspectives and perception of space changes as one moves through the building, extending from their quasi-disappearance to areas that are more shielded. Between these pillars wood and ceramic workshops, engineering machinery and offices are  softly delimited in a concept of abstract “flexibility” capable of accommodating different functions without the need for compartmentalization, providing users with fluid circulation through the building and different ways of appropriating their workspaces.  The view from KAIT Workshop was the starting point of the design of the adjacent Plaza. The plan was scaled up to fill the site, which is two metres lower than the rest of the campus. The height of the architecture was minimised to take advantage of the existing level difference and create a volume that merges with the terrain to form a new ground. The structural conception was based on a single enormous sheet of steel suspended from the four perimeter walls. With no columns inside, this sheet gently sags into a grand curving surface. I then planned theconcave floor parallel to the curved roof. Inspired by the spatial proportions between sky and ground when observing the earth in section, the ceiling height was kept as low as possible relative to the scale of the plan. The sagging sky-like ceiling and the concave ground-like floor curve to join in the distance, thus materialising a horizon within the architecture. People appear as they approach from the horizon and disappear as the move beyond it. The roof has 59 openings that illuminate the spaces directly beneath them, but the low ceiling prevents daylight from spreading throughout the interior. As a result, the bright areas are confined to the spaces around the openings, while moderately dimmer lighting is maintained in other areas. On an atmospheric scale, the effect is similar to the patches of light and shade on a partially cloudy day. This play of light and shadow changes according to the hour and the weather. Since the openings are left unglazed, the natural elements can flow inwards. On rainy days, drops of water fall through these openings to form columns of rain inside, generating a hazy scene with the sight and sound of rain before one’s eyes. The scenery therefore manifests itself as the physical experience of changes in nature. (Description provided by Junya Ishigami + Associates)