Shonan Institute of Technology High School Library / kousou + Fukei Co.

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Text description provided by the architects. The library building at Shonan Institute of Technology High School was planned in response to the aging of the original library building. We proposed to merge the library building with some of the classroom buildings, which were also deteriorating. The plan is approximately 30m x 26m and is characterized by a pentagonal plan shape. It is a three-story building with a maximum height of approximately 14 meters, and the floor heights are 3.5 meters, 4.5 meters, and 5.5 meters, in ascending order from the first floor, with higher heights on the upper floors.

Initially, we considered the idea of zoning the classrooms and library according to their different functions, but we decided to place a classroom and a library on each floor, believing that the integration of the different functions would develop the potential of the students. The classrooms were designed in an open-school style, with the RC walls of the structure having a different arrangement, size, and shape on each floor, and the upper floor walls spanning two different walls on the lower floor, so that the load from the upper floor can be evenly transferred to the lower floor. This random wall structure allows for a nest-like architecture in which various places of residence are loosely connected, and in which high school students can engage in a variety of activities.

When designing a new school building that integrates classrooms and the library, we moved away from the traditional closed-off classroom that merely manages students. Instead, we envisioned an environment where the library and classrooms would mutually inspire each other, fostering spontaneous discoveries, learning, and relationships. First, we removed the walls of the rectangular classrooms to create a connection with the spaces outside. Next, by minimizing the boundaries between inside and outside and making the building more responsive to the external environment, we created a more fluid space that we believe will invigorate the entire campus.

Freed from the uniform directional layout of traditional classroom planning, the walls became more random. In this generous environment, where walls gently enclose the classrooms, users are free to form their own spaces, creating a nest-like layout.