Nobuaki Miyashita's YN International School Educational Facility emerges as a remarkable synthesis of biophilic architecture and contemporary educational design philosophy, presenting an aerial perspe

Nobuaki Miyashita's YN International School Educational Facility presents a compelling aerial and street-level visualization of contemporary educational architecture that demonstrates sophisticated in

Cascading horizontal roof planes adorned with exuberant green vegetation establish the defining formal gesture of Nobuaki Miyashita's YN International School Educational Facility, captured across two

Vertical timber slats of honey-toned hardwood rise rhythmically across four stacked horizontal planes, establishing an immediately perceptible compositional architecture rooted in modular repetition a

Silver Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2026

YN International School Educational Facility

by Nobuaki Miyashita

A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Awarded April 15, 2026
CLIENT: Jones Lang LaSalle K.K.
Estimated Number of Design Views: 13,624
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About YN International School Educational Facility

YN International School is a planned international school campus in Yokohama, Japan. The design interprets Japanese rice terraces as a spatial system for learning. A stepped mass rises from north to south to satisfy strict shadow control, while planted roof terraces are stacked as daily outdoor learning landscapes. A central skylight and an open atrium bring daylight deep into the elongated plan and help students keep orientation. Glass classroom fronts keep learning visible, supporting curiosity and cross-cultural exchange. The site covers about 11,300 square meters.

Within the expanding discourse of sustainable educational architecture, Nobuaki Miyashita's YN International School Educational Facility represents a thoughtful meditation on the relationship between learning environments and the natural world. The design appears to emerge from a conviction that educational spaces might nurture not only intellectual development but also ecological awareness and embodied connection to living systems. The terraced configuration suggests an interpretation of the traditional schoolhouse transformed through contemporary environmental consciousness, where each ascending level offers students and faculty opportunities for outdoor engagement while maintaining the functional requirements of modern pedagogy. The material palette demonstrates a careful balance between the warmth of natural timber and the transparency of extensive glazing, creating what might be understood as a permeable membrane between interior classrooms and exterior garden terraces. One observes particularly successful passages in the integration of diverse planting schemes, from manicured lawns to naturalistic meadow grasses, suggesting an educational landscape that could itself serve as a teaching resource for biodiversity and ecological systems. The building's relationship to its urban context presents an interesting dialogue, wherein the organic forms and verdant surfaces offer a gentle counterpoint to the geometric concrete structures visible in the surrounding metropolitan fabric. The human figures populating the various terraces animate the composition with suggestions of collaborative learning, casual conversation, and contemplative solitude, indicating how the architecture might support diverse modes of educational and social interaction. How might such integration of landscape and learning space influence the daily experience and long-term environmental consciousness of its young inhabitants?

Press Kit

Unique Properties: Planned international school campus in Yokohama, Kanagawa (design 2023-2025, unbuilt). A rice-terrace-inspired section steps upward from north to south to satisfy strict shadow control, while stacking green roof terraces as everyday learning landscapes. A central skylight and atrium bring daylight deep into the long plan, and transparent classroom fronts promote curiosity and cross-cultural interaction. Site approx. 11,300 sqm; total construction floor area approx. 29,000 sqm.
Dimensions & Packaging: Planned campus: B2F + 5F; building height approx. 19.5 m. Typical floor height 3.9 m (1F-5F); ceiling height 3.0 m (1F-5F, B1) and 4.0 m (B2); floor height 4.4 m (B1) and 6.1 m (B2). Total construction floor area approx. 29,000 sqm on a site approx. 11,300 sqm. Key devices: stepped massing for shadow control, green roof terraces, central skylight and atrium, transparent classroom fronts.
Tags: Architecture, International school, Educational facility, Rice terraces, Green roof terraces, Atrium, Skylight, Daylight, Shadow control, Japanese culture
Production Technology: Realized through section, not a decorative skin. Terraces and roofs are layered as planted open spaces, forming a continuous learning landscape. A large skylight spans the center of the elongated volume, and an open atrium increases daylight penetration and visual connection between floors. Classroom fronts use glass partitions to keep learning visible and inviting while maintaining controlled separation.
Design Challenge: Challenge: create an internationally open learning environment while conveying Japanese culture without turning tradition into decoration, and also satisfy strict shadow control. The solution turns compliance into identity: a rice-terrace-inspired mass steps upward from north to south and layers green roof terraces as everyday learning landscapes. Inside, a large skylight and atrium secure daylight and orientation, while transparent classroom fronts keep learning visible and interactive.
Project Duration: Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Design period: 2023-2025. Project status: unbuilt, construction not scheduled. The proposal forms a stepped, rice-terrace-like campus mass shaped by strict shadow control, with layered green roof terraces and a central skylight/atrium for daylight quality. Site approx. 11,300 sqm; total construction floor area approx. 29,000 sqm.
Operation Flow: The campus works as a vertical landscape. Students move along layered terraces and corridors around a central atrium, keeping orientation in the long plan. The skylight and atrium make shared spaces bright and legible, while green roof terraces support daily outdoor learning and rest. Glass-partitioned classrooms keep activities visible, encouraging curiosity, spontaneous encounters, and cross-cultural exchange.
Research: Type: design research. Objective: translate rice-terrace heritage into an educational campus that meets strict shadow control while providing biophilic learning space. Method: iterative north-to-south sectional studies; stacking green roof terraces; daylight strategy using a central skylight and atrium across an elongated plan; transparency via glass classroom fronts. Tools/Data: compliance and daylight checks. Result: a campus where cultural identity is experienced as daily landscape and light, supported by bright shared interiors and accessible terraces.
Inspiration: Inspired by rice terraces, a Japanese landscape shaped by slope, water, and time. The campus translates this heritage into an urban school: overlapping green roof terraces form a daily outdoor learning terrain, while the stepped section rising north to south responds rationally to strict shadow control. The concept lets international students sense Japanese culture through routine movement, light, and landscape, not as decoration.
Image Credits: Image #1: Nobuaki Miyashita (MR STUDIO Co.,Ltd.)
Image #2: Nobuaki Miyashita (MR STUDIO Co.,Ltd.)
Image #3: Nobuaki Miyashita (MR STUDIO Co.,Ltd.)
Image #4: Nobuaki Miyashita (MR STUDIO Co.,Ltd.)
Image #5: Nobuaki Miyashita (MR STUDIO Co.,Ltd.)