Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center

This visitor centre in Tokyo by Japanese architects Kengo Kuma and Associates looks like a stack of smaller buildings with sloping roofs.

Named the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, the building is located near the outer gate to ancient Buddhist temple Sensō-ji, which was constructed in the sixth century and is the oldest of its kind in the city.

Wooden louvres shade each of the four glass elevations and are spaced differently depending on the shade and privacy required by the rooms inside.

Surfaces inside the building are also timber-clad and balconies are located on two of the upper floors.

Horizontal slices divide the tower’s eight main storeys, creating sloping ceilings in conference rooms and an exhibition space, as well as a tiered floor inside the multi-purpose hall.