About an hour from Tokyo lies one of Japan’s most fascinating architectural spaces. KAIT Plaza, completed in 2020 and designed by architect Junya Ishigami for the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, is a work suspended between rigor and illusion. Located within the university campus, it was created as an open, shared space, somewhere between a public square and a contemplative retreat inspired, in its soft surfaces and freedom of use, by Siena’s Piazza del Campo.
Constructed according to that minimal and rarefied aesthetic typical of contemporary Japanese architecture, KAIT Plaza is a project as radical as it is poetic. The monochrome white structure is dominated by a roof composed of thin metal sheets of just 12 mm that extend for about 90 meters without intermediate supports. No pillars interrupt the view: everything seems to negate weight and gravity. The covered plaza extends over 4,100 m² and has a slightly undulating surface with a height difference of almost five meters between the highest and lowest points. The curved floor, made of draining asphalt, rapidly absorbs rainwater, while 59 square openings in the ceiling let in light, air and rain, continuously transforming the atmosphere of the space. Perception constantly changes: ceiling, floor and structure seem to merge into a single white, silent surface, creating a surreal effect.
Junya Ishigami, now among the most influential figures in contemporary Japanese architecture, is known for visionary projects that blur the line between nature and construction, such as the Art Biotop Water Garden in Japan, an artificial landscape composed of hundreds of small pools of water surrounded by forest. Although it is conceived as an accessible, public space, KAIT Plaza is located within a private university; therefore, to visit it requires advance reservation by email, available on selected dates.
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