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A comprehensive welfare facility utilizing the approximately 130,000 square meter former university campus site in Nara Prefecture. While preserving the architectural structure of the old school buildings, barrier-free improvements have been made, and various facilities such as a disability support center, Japanese language school, restaurant, and outdoor park have been gradually developed.
The former university library building has been designated for renovation into the “Nara Toy Museum,” themed around wood education. KINO architects was responsible for the legal compliance and renovation design of the entire building. Renovating a university facility with relatively lenient legal regulations into a museum required numerous processes, which were overcome one by one to achieve completion.
The second floor houses the Toy Museum, while the first floor features a library café centered around over 1,000 picture books, an event space, and a shop. The interior design and furnishings throughout the facility utilize nearly all locally sourced Nara prefecture wood, with the creation process itself contributing to “forest revitalization.”
