Japan’s New Kadokawa Culture Museum is Housed in an Angular, Granite Structure Designed by Kengo Kuma

All images © Kadokawa Culture Museum

Slated to open in the next few weeks, the new Kadokawa Culture Museum in Japan is situated within a starkly designed structure by architect Kengo Kuma (previously). Appearing pixelated, the facade is formed with 20,000 individual pieces of granite, and the polyhedron-shaped building is broken up into five floors, including a garden, art gallery, two museums, and a cafe. The most alluring feature is the bookshelf theater, an eight-meter-high library that holds around 50,000 titles. On level four, the multifunctional space can be transformed into a performance venue through projection mapping.

Located west of Tokyo, the museum is part of the larger Tokorozawa Sakura Town complex, which includes an anime hotel, an outdoor space lined with cherry trees, an indoor pavilion, shrine, shops, and restaurants. An exhibition dedicated to Kuma will mark the museum’s launch, although a definitive schedule for public visits hasn’t been released due to concerns about COVID-19. To follow Kuma’s architectural projects and updates on Kadokawa’s full opening, head to Instagram. (via designboom)