Nara University Library
Nara is one of Japan's oldest capital cities. It still bears many traces of its heyday around 700 BC and is surrounded by an impressive landscape. The college complex (the university) was initially housed in military barracks. The library is conceived as the centerpiece of the entire new complex. Upon entering the campus through the main gate, it appears as a unified whole with the silhouette of the famous "Three Mountains of Kasuga." The interplay between the building and the landscape was a key design element.
