Japan House by Kengo Kuma and FGMF, São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan, and this new building acts as a sort of Japanese cultural embassy in Brazil. The first architectural challenge was the conversion of a bank into a cultural centre. The focus of the project is the facade on Avenida Paulista: wood blades (hinoki, a typical Japanese cypress) of different dimensions are arranged vertically and horizontally, with different inclinations in relation to the frontal plane of the building, creating an unusual brise-soleil. This generates an entangled, formless perimeter which shifts as one walks parallel to the facade. Minimalism predominates on the three floors inside the building – the exhibition areas are flexible white cubes and the furniture in the café, library and shop is delicate with slender components.