Freedom Learning Manor House, Jissen Gakuen Junior & Senior High School
2-38-5 Chuo, Nakano, Tokyo, JAPAN
"Place" created by margins and gaps
| Architect | Furuya Nobuaki+NASCA |
|---|---|
| Usage | Junior & Senior High School |
| Structure | RC+ S |
| Size | B1/3F |
| Site area | 924.54m2 |
| Area | 1,389.38m2 |
| Completion | 2011.03 |
| Award | The Japan Institute of Artchitects (JIA) Grand Prix 2014; Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Award 2014 |
| Publishing | Shinkenchiku 2011.05 |
Jissen gakuen is a co-education middle and high school located in a residential area 5 minutes walking distance from Nakano Sakaue subway station. Due to limited land, the school facilities for 1200 students were condensed in a courtyard style school building. The site is filled with general classrooms, corridors and other necessary items. There was a limit to creating so-called margins or elbowroom. It can be said that the newly planned free-study center is a place created by collecting only the margins and openings around the classrooms. The expected functions here not only a place for students to self-study but also a hall for leisure activities such as chorus club, where it is also possible to welcome in the neighborhood residents. Here the nature of the activities themselves is in contrast to the ‘ON’ state of classes, an ‘OFF’ action so to speak. First, the inner shell of the hall is placed semi-underground, then the outer shell is shaped in response to the surroundings, considering the sunlight and the line of sight to the neighboring land. A gap is created between them. Inside, spaces for various leisure activities are stacked up until the top floor. In this way a seemingly complicated space is born. From the gap-like openings placed everywhere you can sometimes see the sky and sometimes treetops. Like being inside a covered box that seems to be wrapped by the environment outside. The aim was for this effect to be felt even inside the hall’s inner shell. Of course, self-study is a very active action different from a lesson in a classroom. We envisioned a place where students could pick their own place, spend time and at the same time mutual interaction would be born naturally.
Photos: Asakawa Satoshi