A school like a small city

In Neyagawa near Osaka, Kengo Kuma brings together two elementary schools and a junior high school into a shared place of education. Rather than a large monolithic building volume, the result is an architecture that integrates into the neighbourhood through small houses, courtyards and in-between spaces.

The new school building in Neyagawa covers almost 20,000 square metres. At first glance, however, it appears significantly smaller: Kengo Kuma breaks down the large building volume into individual volumes through roofs and balconies of varying heights, and aligns them with the surrounding street grid. This creates the impression of a cluster of small houses. Two elementary schools and a junior high school are accommodated here together.

Three schools, one shared courtyard

The elementary school areas and the junior high school face each other along a north–south axis. In between them and on the west side, a U-shaped building section links the different areas. At the centre, a sheltered inner courtyard is created, which is not only available to the pupils but can also be opened to the neighbourhood. Openings in the façade surrounding the courtyard bring light into this shared space and repeatedly create new visual connections.

Inside, too, the principle of connection continues. A generous Learning Commons is oriented towards an atrium and consists of staggered levels that recall the hilly landscape of the surroundings. The different heights create visual connections while also forming smaller areas where pupils can withdraw, learn or meet.

A school without a traditional library

The approach to books is particularly unusual: instead of an enclosed library, Kengo Kuma distributes shelves and books throughout the entire building. Learning and reading are thus not tied to a single room, but become part of the everyday route through the school. The architecture is intended to spark curiosity and encourage independent discovery.

In this way, the large school complex becomes a fine-grained place of education that connects different age groups while also opening up to its surroundings. Kengo Kuma thus translates the scale of the task into an architecture that feels more like a small village than a traditional school.