Factory Building

SANAA, 2012

This production facility was designed by the Japanese architects SANAA. It has been a part of the Vitra Campus since 2010, except for the facade, which was completed in 2012. The building is rounded in shape, but not quite circular, and is composed of two half-round concrete shells that are connected to one another. The oval form optimises logistical processes by allowing trucks sufficient room for circulating in.

About the architects

Kazuyo Sejima, who was born in the Japanese prefecture of Ibaraki in 1956, studied architecture at Japan Women's University. After initially working for Toyo Ito & Associates, she opened the architectural office Kazuyo Sejima & Associates in 1987 and subsequently founded SANAA together with Ryue Nishizawa in 1995. She has served as a lecturer at Keio University since 2001.

Ryue Nishizawa was born in 1966 in the prefecture of Kanagawa, Japan. He completed an architectural degree at Yokohama National University before joining the office of Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, which led to the founding of SANAA together with Kazuyo Sejima in 1995. Since 1997 he has also run his own firm, the Office of Ryue Nishizawa, and has taught at Yokohama National University since 2001.

SANAA was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010.

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