sou fujimoto to build learning center of stacked cubes for swiss university

japanese architect sou fujimoto has been selected to complete a new educational building for the university of st.gallen (HSG) in switzerland. located on the rosenberg estate, the learning center is backed by the HSG foundation and seeks to help the school and its students ‘face the challenges of digitalization and to enable a new quality of learning.’ the design — titled ‘open grid – choices of tomorrow’ — was chosen ahead of seven other proposals by a 16-member jury.

rooftop terraces will be planted with greenery
image courtesy of sou fujimoto

for the competition-winning scheme, sou fujimoto envisioned a structure consisting of multiple cubes on a grid that take into account the proportions of the neighboring residential area. varying from 3.5 to 18.5 meters above street level, the cubes offer a total of 7,000 square meters of floorspace. rooftop terraces are planted with greenery, while indoor and outdoor spaces are connected with transparent surfaces. internally, the structure is designed so that the layout of the rooms can be changed repeatedly.

internally, the structure is designed to be as flexible as possible
image by MIR, courtesy of sou fujimoto

the HSG learning center is designed to be a place to think, work, and facilitate different types of learning and interaction among students and teachers. in establishing the HSG learning center, the university of st.gallen seeks to enable a new quality of learning that will prepare students as effectively as possible to work in the digital age after graduation. the project will be entirely financed through donations with around 40 million swiss francs ($43m USD) already pledged. construction is scheduled to begin in 2019/20, with the hope that the building will be open in time for the 2022 spring semester.

an aerial view of the competition-winning scheme
image courtesy of sou fujimoto

sou fujimoto and marie de france in discussion
video courtesy of university of st. gallen