This Museum’s Facade Was Formed With 20,000 Pieces of Granite

The new Kadokawa Culture Museum in Japan, designed by renowned architecture firm Kengo Kuma, is set to open in the next few weeks. Covering 10,764 square feet, the polyhedron-shaped establishment’s facade was built using 20,000 individual pieces of granite and is divided into five floors that includes two museums, art galleries, a cafe and a garden. One of the more striking features of the structure is the sprawling bookshelf theater located on the fourth floor. The library holds roughly 50,000 books. On the fourth floor, the multipurpose space can be transformed into a concert venue using projection mapping technology.

Situated at the Tokorozawa Sakura Town complex in the west of Tokyo, the five-story building also includes an anime hotel, an indoor pavilion, shrine, shops and restaurants. There will be an exhibition dedicated to Kengo Kuma to mark the museum’s opening on August 1. Other sections of the museum will be open to the public starting November 6. As far as future programming is concerned, the museum is looking to host shows on a variety of genres including nature, science, art, natural history and society.

Check out the video below to get a closer look at the Kadokawa Museum.

Elsewhere in design, Joy Resolve recently unveiled its new manual immersion brewer.