SANAA Architects: Japan architecture practice

SANAA Architects, Japan: Sejima & Nishizawa

Contemporary Japanese Architecture Practice

post updated 6 November 2026

Japanese Architect Office led by architects Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa, Tokyo

SANAA, architects : Win 2010 Pritzker Prize architects. 29 Mar 2010

SANAA Architects – Selected Major Projects by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa

SANAA Architecture Studio News

O-Museum, Nagano, Japan
The Ogasawara Museum was one of their first projects together, begun in 1995 and completed in 1999. Built on an isolated plateau on the side of a mountain, the site is an important heritage site where a castle from the 14th and 15th centuries once stood. The building’s shape follows the contours of the land, and is raised off the ground to keep the remains of the castle in sight, and also minimizes problems with rising damp from the ground. The entrance is from a square and ramp to a large lobby with a large window that frames the castle remains. Exhibition rooms and service area are in line with the lobby.

Stadstheater Almere “De Kunstlinie”, Almere, The Netherlands

photo © Adrian Welch
In 1998, SANAA was chosen to design a municipal theater and cultural center that would serve both professional and amateur artists. The site is in a town located on a lake just west of Amsterdam. The project is one of many under a master plan developed by OMA. Completed in 2007.
Almere Building Photos

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

photo © 2008 Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Located in an historic city on the north coast of the Japan, this circular building completely within a glass envelope can be viewed from all angles. There are central exhibition spaces of different proportions surrounded by areas for municipal services such as a library, a workshop for children and a conference room. There is space around the perimeter inside the glass to walk completely around the building. There are four inner courtyards enclosed by glass, and many of the rooms have skylights to provide diffused natural light where needed. This project began in 1999 and was completed in 2004.

Christian Dior Building, Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan
Completed in 2003, the Christian Dior store on Omotesando Avenue in Tokyo called for four retail floors and one multifunctional level. The building could have a maximum height of almost 100 feet so it was decide to achieve the maximum volume and then divide the horizontal spaces of variable heights into retail floors alternated with spaces used for utilities, and all enclosed in glass. Translucent acrylic screens behind the glass can soften the building. At night, the building glows like a jewel in the urban landscape that surrounds it.

The Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, Toledo, Ohio, USA

picture © 2008 Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Begun in 2001 and completed in 2006, this addition to the Toledo Museum of Art was designed to house the museum’s collection of art glass, as well as a laboratory and glass-making foundry for the production of material. The plan, laid out on a single level, is based on a grid of interlocking glass rectangles linking one room to another. The walls of the rooms are of curved glass allowing views to adjacent and/or exterior spaces in various degrees of transparency or translucency. There are interior courtyards as well.

Zollverein School of Management and Design, Essen, Germany

photo © 2008 Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
This project, begun in 2003 and completed in 2006, is located on the site of an old coal mine, near a carbon factory in a suburban area. Designed as a cube, approximately 115 feet to a side, it is a contrast to the large industrial buildings as well as the smaller scale residences around it. Divided into four floors of varying heights, windows of varying dimensions provide natural light and views of the surrounding areas. The first floor is a common study area completely open with no partitions.
Zollverein School of Management and Design

New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, New York, USA

photograph from SANAA, 2007
In the heart of lower Manhattan, this high rise exhibition space increases the amount of wall space and keeps the building within local planning limits by staggering the different levels which makes possible skylights and terraces where the floors overlap. Begun in 2003, the building opened in 2007.
New Museum of Contemporary Art New York

Rolex Learning Center, EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérales de Lausanne), Lausanne, Switzerland

This project, begun in 2005, is designed to house a library, a center for the study of languages, offices, a cafeteria, restaurant and lobby. The roof and floor have a slightly undulating form. The main entrance can be approached from four sides by walking under the undulating floor slab. There are seven courtyards of varying sizes and shapes. These along with the variations in the space heights and sizes help create different atmospheres for different functions. This project was completed in 2009.
Rolex Learning Center

Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
Begun in 2003 and completed in 2006, this building is a ferry terminal on a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. A large (approximately 39,000 square feet) roof covers most of the site, and encompasses several glass enclosed areas that function as visitors center, cafe, event hall, and waiting area, as well as space for parking and bus stops and is described as an entrance hall of the island to accommodate the people together.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009, London, England, UK

image © Nick Weall
Serpentine Pavilion 2009 + Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Derek Lam Boutique, New York City, USA
2009

photograph from DLM
Derek Lam New York Store

– Competition entry, Barcelona, Spain
2007

image from SANAA, 2007
Camp Nou Stadium Competition : Spanish Architecture Contest

More SANAA projects online soon

SANAA Architects Practice Information

SANAA : Kazuyo Sejima (right) and Ryue Nishizawa (left)

picture © 2008 Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Photograph © Takashi Okamoto

SANAA – Summary

Kazuyo Sejima
Born:
1956 in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Education:
Master’s in Architecture in 1981
Japan Women’s University

Ryue Nishizawa
Born:
1966 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Education:
Master’s in Architecture in 1990
Yokohama National University

SANAA – Brief Chronology

1981
Sejima joined Toyo Ito & Associates
1987
Sejima forms Kazuyo Sejima & Associates
Nishizawa joins firm
1995
Sejima and Nishizawa form SANAA
1997
Nishizawa forms Office of Ryue Nishizawa
2001
Sejima becomes Professor at Keio University, Tokyo
Nishizawa becomes Associate Professor at Yokoham National University

Images of Buildings by SANAA Architects welcome : info(at)e-architect.com

SANAA – Chronology of Major Works

1996
S-House
Okayama, Japan
Multimedia Workshop
Ogaki, Gifu, Japan

1997
K-Building
Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan
M-House
Tokyo, Japan
N-Museum
Nakahechi, Wakayama, Japan

1998
Park Cafe
Koga, Ibaraki, Japan

1999
O-Museum
Iida, Nagano, Japan

2000
Day Care Center
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
La Biennale di Venezia, 7th International Architecture Exhibition
“City of Girls” Japanese Pavilion, Venice, Italy
Prada Beauty (Prototype)
Isetan, Tokyo, Japan

2001
Prada Beauty
Lee Garden, Hong Kong
Garden Cafe
Seventh International Biennale
Istanbul, Turkey

2003
Christian Dior Building
Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan
Issey Miyake by Naoki Takizawa Store
Tokyo, Japan

2004
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

2006
Zollverein School of Management and Design
Essen, Germany
Glass Pavilion, Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo, Ohio
Naoshima Ferry Terminal
Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
Novartis Campus
Basel, Switzerland

2007
New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York, New York
DeKunstlinie Theatre and Cultural Center
Almere, Netherlands

2009
Derek Lam, shop interior
New York, New York
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
London, England
Rolex Learning Center, EPFL
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland

Current Projects by SANAA Architects

Extension of the Instiute d’Art Modern
Valencia, Spain

House for China International Practical Exhibition of Architecture
Nanjing, China

Louvre Lens
Lens, France

Vitra Factory Building
Weil am Rhein, Germany

Social Housing Paris District XVI
Paris, France

Multifunctional Building of the Serralves Foundation
Porto, Portugal

Hyundai Card Factory
Seoul, Korea

Awards for SANAA

1998
The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan
Tokyo, Japan

2000
Erich Schelling Architecture Prize
Karlsruhe, Germany

2002
Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture
American Academy of Arts and Letters
New York, New York
Architecture Award of Salzburg
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Salzburg, Austria

2004
Golden Lion for the Most Remarkable Work
in the Exhibition “Metamorph”
Venice Biennale
Ninth International Architecture Exhibition
Venice, Italy

2005
46th Mainichi Newspaper Arts Award (Architecture Category)
Tokyo, Japan
The Rolf Schock Prize in the Visual Arts Category
Sweden

2006
The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan
Tokyo, Japan

2007
The Mario Pani Award
Mexico City, Mexico
The Berlin Art Prize (Kunstpreis)
Berlin, Germany

Selected Exhibitions by SANAA

1996
Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, England

1998
GA Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2000
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

2001
Aedes Gallery in Berlin, Germany
NAI in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Zumtobel Staff-Lichtforum in Vienna, Austria
Ministerio de Fomento, Madrid, Spain

2002
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City, New York, USA

2003
Gallery Ma in Tokyo, Japan and N-Museum in Wakayama, Japan

2005
21st Century of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan
Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, Italy
Technicum Chur, Switzerland

2007
MUSAC in Leon, Spain
deSingel, International Arts Center in Antwerp, Belgium
arc-en-reve centre d’architecture in Bordeaus, France

Location: Tokyo, Japan, Asia

SANAA Architects Bibliography

SANAA Architects

Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa 1995-1999
monographic issue of Japan Architect #35, Fall 1999

SANAA Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa 2004-2008
monographic issue El Croquis, #139

SANAA Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa Recent Projects
Aedes, Berlin 2000

Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa SANAA
Yuko Hasegawa, 2005 Electa, Milan

Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa
Zollverein School of Management and Design
A+U #413, Tokyo, Japan

Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa
2005 A.D.A. Edita, Tokyo, Japan

Houses: SANAA Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa
Musac – SANAA – Actar, Spain

Shift – SANAA and the New Museum
Lars Muller Publishers

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A brief introduction to the major works by SANAA architects:

Major Works by SANAA Architects Guide

SANAA Architects is an internationally-acclaimed architecture firm owned by Principles Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Japan. The Architects studio has completed several high-profile projects, including The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan, The Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, the Christian Dior building in Omotesando, Tokyo, the New Contemporary Art Museum building in Manhattan, and several other buildings which showcase the brilliant architectural designs and themes. We aim in this brief introduction to give a good overview on this trend-setting architectural firm.

Buildings by SANAA

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art located in Kanazawa, one of the major historical centres, on the north coast of Japan, is a real architectural gem. Circular in form, this building by SANAA Architects has no front or back, thus allowing one to explore it from all directions. The design of this circular building is based on a chain of islands. Further, the variously proportioned rooms in the building, including community gathering spaces, a library, lecture hall, museum spaces, and children’s workshop, with curved glass in the exterior façade, and four fully glazed internal courtyards, make it a perfect example of contemporary architecture. One can enjoy ample daylight and panoramic views in and from the building.

The Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio is a mind-blowing glass artwork by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. The SANAA Architects firm has designed the building primarily out of glass. Other than the walls of toilets, plumbing, roof drains, elevators, and diagonal bracing, all the walls in the exterior and interior part of the building are made of curved glass. Another unusual aspect of this building is that there is no wall dividing two spaces. The galleries have two walls of curving glass between them. There is a gap of 1m between the layers of glass.

The SANAA Architects gave special consideration to issues like day lighting, temperature control, noise, reflectivity, and fragility while constructing this unique glass museum.

The Christian Dior building in Omotesando by SANAA architects resembles a child’s tattoo. The building is gift-wrapped in a transparent skin to enable one to see the building underneath. Further, the architects have used clear glass on the outside and a layer of translucent acrylic on the inside. One can add designs and logos to the building to make it suit the changing seasons or for a special sale or discounts and offers.

Other famous works by the SANAA Architects include New Museum of Contemporary Art Extension, SoHo, New York, USA, Glass Pavilion, Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA, Camp Nou Stadium Redevelopment – Competition entry, Barcelona, Spain, and De Kunstlinie – Almere Theatre / Almere Arts Centre, The Netherlands.

Those of you who are interested to know more about the architectural designs of the SANAA Architects, or view the images of the famous buildings by the SANAA Architects, or want to get complete information about the contemporary architecture, modern houses, new houses, Barcelona architecture, London architecture, or New York architecture, you may visit www.e-architect.com.

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Major Building Designs by SANAA Architects

Grace Farms Wins Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize
Grace Farms (New Canaan, Connecticut, US) by the firm SANAA is the recipient of the 2014/2015 MCHAP, recognizing the most distinguished architectural works built on the North and South American continents.

photo © Iwan Baan
Grace Farms Wins Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Winners

Neruda Tower Building, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Design: SANAA, architects with Bernardo Gomez Pimienta

image courtesy of architects office
Neruda Tower design by SANAA