With the aim of promoting the country’s culture and economy in their various aspects, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs adopted the architectural design by Kengo Kuma, in partnership with the Brazilian firm FGMF Arquitetos, for the construction of the Japan House unit in São Paulo, the first of the “Japan House Project.”
The complex, which functions as a multi-purpose space — featuring exhibition areas, lecture rooms, a shop, and a restaurant — occupies a former bank branch that underwent several interventions to accommodate the institution. These included the installation of a wooden slat screen covering the building’s west façade, while the side elevation is defined by a second skin — a cobogó-style panel. The interior design adopts the “white cube” concept.