Waveform
Art museum and library proposal for Nerima City, Tokyo
with Rizek Bahbah
Entanglements Studio
critics Akihisa Hirata and José Aragüez
Spring 2025
Nerima City, Tokyo
Circulation Model
Research
The project began with a series of investigative sketches and research on waves - their formation beginning in the middle of the ocean, and the resulting effect when they encounter land.
Formation Logic
surfacewindcircularitymovementdepthbreakTaxonomy
ice bergsand barbayheadlandrocky edgearchipelago
Design Study
Two study models translated the diagrams into formal ideas.
The first model depics the relationship between two surfaces,
one massive and topographical and the other light and flat. The
second model uses a sea of curved columns to direct a sense of
movement through space.
Study Model One: Ocean and shore; plaster, aluminum
Study Model Two: Wave particles; wood
Proposal
Our initial studies informed this proposal for an art museum and
library in Nerima City, Tokyo. The building consists of three layers: a
rammed earth base housing primary programs, a sloped topographic
surface, and a flat metal roof supported by 300 slender columns of
varying heights.
The rammed earth creates vaulted, compression-only geometries that
provide quiet, contemplative spaces for museum and library functions.
Above, the gently sloping topography invites entry from all sides.
The forest of thin metal columns guides circulation while maintaining
spatial openness, allowing people to move freely above, through, and
below the topographic layer. The design creates a porous, multi-level
experience where movement and discovery are fluid.
Site modelColored pencil rendering: Approach
Site PlanSite PlanPlan +0Plan +1
DiagramSite PlanPlan +0Plan +1
Library model 1:50Museum model 1:50North-South section
Colored pencil rendering: EntranceColored pencil rendering: Study SpaceEast-West sectionStaircase model 1:50