A generous school where architecture and nature are integrated

This project is a fully residential, integrated middle and high school planned on Osakikamijima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, intended to foster leaders who can shape a “better future” locally and globally.

The campus is divided into two sites, with an athletic field along the coast and the school buildings on the land side. To give structure to the vast site, a sequence of courtyards of different scales—Mikan Square, Learning Garden, and Living Garden—was introduced to define domains appropriate to the activities of the school and dormitories. Functional “clusters” are organized around these courtyards and connected by corridors and semi-covered spaces, forming the school’s spatial framework.

This cluster-based layout flexibly accommodates learning units ranging from individual study to large-group activities, including the International Baccalaureate and internationally collaborative project-based learning. Because modifications can be made at the cluster level, their impact on the overall building is minimized. The dispersed clusters allow structural flexibility, while the expandable configuration supports phased construction and future growth.

Semi-external connectors, shaped by the mild Setouchi climate, serve as everyday living spaces and gently link architecture with nature. Through this integration, the project aims to dissolve the boundary between the school and the island, allowing the island as a whole to evolve into a place of rich living and learning.