circular slabs wrap around kengo kuma's civic complex in shibuya, tokyo

kengo kuma completes civic facility in shibuya, tokyo

In a densely built-up site of Jingumae in Shibuya, Tokyo, Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA) reveals its design for the Shibuya SCC Sendagaya Community Center and Harajyuku Kindergarten. Completed earlier this year by the Japanese studio in an area where workers and residences intermingle, this newly opened public and educational complex facility features a series of circular slabs with marble floors that create a generous gap between the five-story building and the adjacent properties, allowing maximum light and wind to enter from the outside. 

all images © Kawasumi-Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office

circular slabs maximize daylight and malleability

Spanning 2,607 square meters, the Shibuya SCC Community Center and and Harajyuku Kindergarten features an atrium, which runs from the first floor to the rooftop, serving as a pathway for the light and wind to enter the building, additionally serving a communal connection between the mixed functions on separate floors. Meanwhile, the team at Kengo Kuma covered the interior and flooring with a series of circular panels serving as windows, furniture, curtains, and signage, all of which vary in material and scale, maximizing the power of the circle to create a softer space. The result is a ‘malleable’ public building that replaces the typically rigid and closed aesthetic of such typologies, especially in dense settings like Tokyo neighborhoods. 

entrance to Shibuya SCC Sendagaya Community Center and Harajyuku Kindergarten

an atrium which runs from the first floor to the rooftop

Kengo Kuma completes the design as a series of circular slabs with marble floors

the building is located in a densely built-up site of Jingumae in Shibuya, Tokyo

mixed functions on separate floors, with daylight pouring into every level

a ‘malleable’ public building in Shibuya by Kengo Kuma

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evening shot

first floor communal space

project info:

name: Shibuya SCC Sendagaya Community Center – Harajyuku Kindergarten

architect: Kengo Kuma and Associates | @kkaa_official

location: Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

team: Masaru Shuku, Yusuke Kanemoto, Tomochika Miki*, Miki Sato, Yoo Shiho, Kyoko Mase, Kimio Suzuki

construction: Kyoritsu Construction

cooperation: Ejiri Structural Engineers
facility: P.T.Morimura & Associates
accumulation: Futaba Quantity Surveyors

photographer: Kawasumi-Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office

built area: 2,607 sqm 

completion date: January 2024