Fukui Prefectural University, Faculty of Dinosaur Paleontology
We designed the campus for Fukui Prefectural University – Faculty of Dinosaur Paleontology, located in Fukui— a region renowned as a “Dinosaur Kingdom.”
The building’s volume curves to follow the shape of the site, with its sections likened to parts of a dinosaur’s body: the “Head” (housing laboratories and research facilities), the “Belly” (a hub for interaction among students and faculty), and the “Tail” (the facility’s entrance). It is positioned to engage with the adjacent Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum (designed by Kisho Kurokawa and completed in 2000). The scale of the building gradually decreases from the “Head” to the “Tail,” allowing it to blend harmoniously with the surrounding greenery and natural landscape.
For the reinforced concrete (RC) exterior walls, four types of decorative formwork were used to create surface relief. Additionally, five patterns of water-jet treatment—each producing a distinct texture—were applied to expose the aggregate, lending the surface an organic, strata-like appearance.
The “Belly” section features a three-story atrium named the “Abdominal Hall.” Here, large-section structural members capable of withstanding three meters of snow accumulation are clad in locally sourced laminated timber, creating a dynamic social space that evokes the image of a dinosaur’s skeletal structure.
