A large-scale commercial and mixed-use complex for Kyoto Research Park — featuring fluid curvilinear towers, immersive interior environments, and expansive public landscapes that synthesize contemporary architecture with the cultural setting of Kyoto.
Developed through an invited competition for Kyoto Research Park, the project addresses the challenge of inserting a 40,000-square-meter commercial campus into a city defined by restrained scale and deep cultural heritage. The design comprises a series of interconnected curvilinear towers clad in high-performance glass, organized around generous landscaped grounds, reflecting pools, and cascading water features that establish a dynamic dialogue between built form and natural environment.
Campus & Landscape
A distinctive green glass entry pavilion anchors the public arrival sequence, drawing visitors into the complex through a sweeping architectural gesture. The campus integrates tree-lined promenades, reflecting pools, and cascading water features that activate the ground plane and connect the complex to the broader Kyoto landscape. The fluid forms of the towers respond to the surrounding mountain topography, establishing a contemporary landmark that respects the city’s cultural heritage.
Interior Environments
The interior program is defined by a series of immersive, technologically advanced spaces. A faceted blue glass canopy transforms the central lobby into a luminous, cathedral-like volume, while a circular presentation theater equipped with a panoramic curved screen and turntable stage offers a state-of-the-art venue for events and product launches. Showroom spaces beneath sweeping sculptural ceiling forms provide dramatic settings for exhibition and display.
Facade & Form
The curvilinear glass facades wrap the interconnected towers in a continuous skin that shifts between transparency and reflectivity throughout the day. At dusk, the warmly illuminated interiors glow through the glass, transforming the complex into a luminous presence within the Kyoto cityscape. Spherical rooftop elements punctuate the composition, housing specialized program spaces and establishing a distinctive silhouette.
Urban Vision
At the urban scale, the complex is conceived as a new civic anchor for Kyoto Research Park, integrating commercial, research, and public functions within a cohesive architectural language. The design prioritizes pedestrian experience through generous plazas and a network of outdoor spaces that mediate between the scale of the complex and the intimate grain of the surrounding Kyoto neighborhoods.
Design Team
The project was designed by Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture with the Asymptote Architecture team.
