PAL International School@TUFS / Naf Architect & Design

An international school that provides a nursery and after-school program designed on the campus of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. The site was designated at the end of a tree-lined avenue extending from the university’s central plaza. It was a hill-like place with a height difference of about 2 meters, and I was told that the hill was made of leftover soil that had been piled up when the student dormitory next to it was built. The site was segregated by a surrounding chain link fence, and it seemed detached from the entire campus as being located at the far end, where weeds grow so thick that you might hesitate to enter in the summer. There was a cut in the center that divided the hill into two, and a smoking area was set up at the back, probably because it was out of sight from the surrounding area.