Japanese architect creates learning center for University of St. Gallen in Switzerland
Submitted at Mar 6, 2018, 12:36 PM
Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has created a learning center for the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The design is structured with a stack of glass cubes held together by white frames. 
Sou Fujimoto's studio has won a competition to design the HSG Learning Center at the University of St. Gallen with a proposal called Open Grid - Choices of Tomorrow. The cubes will range in height from 3.5 to 18.5 m, a design designed to to stand out on campus, without looking lost in the residential area in which it is located. 
Both the facade and interior walls of Open Grid will be made of floor-to-ceiling glass. The internal partitions will be able to be rearranged to allow the sizes, shapes and layouts of the rooms to be changed according to the needs of students and teachers. 
Donors have already pledged 40 million Swiss francs to implement the project. Total costs are estimated at up to 50 million Swiss francs, plus another 10 million to run the center. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2019, with an estimated completion date for the beginning of 2022. 
For another university project, this time in Paris, the competition-winning design, also by Fujimoto, featured trees growing around a structure of beams and white glazing. The architect is also involved in the design of the €275 million Joia Meìridia development in Nice, France. The design for a residential tower was surrounded by canopies and balconies. For a new residential project in Brussels, he designed a tower complex with a facade carved by tree-lined balconies. 
