Day 305/365 of Steel – Ryue Nishizawa

Ryue Nishizawa (born on 7 February 1966) is a Japanese architect based in Tokyo. In 1995, he co-founded the firm Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA with Kazuyo Sejima. In 2010, he became the youngest recipient ever of the Pritzker Prize, together with Sejima.

Louvre Lens (2006)

Louvre Lens Museum
Fig 1: Louvre Lens Museum
Photo: © Julien Lanoo

The choice of placing the museum on a former mine illustrates the intent of the museum to participate in the conversion of the mining area, while retaining the richness of its industrial past. The Japanese architects from SANAA wanted to avoid creating a dominating fortress, opting instead for a low, easily accessible structure that integrates into the site without imposing on it by its presence. The structure is made up of five buildings of steel and glass.

Louvre Lens Museum
Fig 2: Louvre Lens Museum
Photo: © Julien Lanoo

Source: ArchDaily

Naoshima Ferry Terminal (2006)

A thin roof of metal sheet covers the large esplanade of the loading dock, generating a flat and weightless single-story volume that accommodates the terminal’s facilities behind a glass enclosure.

Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Kagawa
Fig 3: Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Kagawa
Photo: arquitecturaviva.com

The lightness of the volume derives from the slender roof , the multiplication of the number of supports to reduce its section and the dematerialization of the construction elements through the use of reflecting surfaces for the finishes.

Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Kagawa
Fig 4: Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Kagawa
Photo: arquitecturaviva.com

In this way, the vast surface of the steel roof, a rectangle measuring 70 m in length and 52 m in width, rests on an orthogonal grid of slender tubular columns of 85 mm in diameter that take on the vertical stress, whereas horizontal loads are resolved with eight structural panels of steel with a mirror finish, arranged randomly over the floor plan surface.

Source: Arquitecturaviva

About the Author:

Bruno Dursin – Managing Director at Believe in Steel. Bruno has more than 30 years of experience in promoting steel & steel solutions. His clients benefit from his extensive network within the building industry.

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