Rooftop garden based on the idea of ‘representations of nature’

The new Keio University building stands on what was once a garden designed by the Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi. The contemporary garden that now springs from the rooftop of this new building pays tribute to the sculptor’s work, much of which focused on abstract forms inspired by nature. The design is based on an aerial photograph of a small river, its landscape reimagined and scaled to size. The resulting on-structure garden, comprising miniature groves and glades of varying densities, invites an immersive experience. The space defies geometric categorization, favoring abstract forms instead. The composition features paving slabs perforated with tall grasses and trees – a natural landscape, with technological roots. A continuous layer of growing medium runs beneath the slabs. The transparent parapet walls, set back from the rooftop edge, blend into the vegetation. The openness draws visitors’ gazes out toward the city and sky beyond, where the garden seems to stretch into the distance, unending.