Not far from Tokyo, in Tokorozawa, the Kadokawa Culture Museum rises out of the earth like a colossal prehistoric monument, wrought from the imagination of an irreverent conjurer. It is in fact Japanese architect Kengo Kuma who is casting the spell on visitors who venture into Kadokawa Culture Museum's library, gallery, and cabinet of curiosities.

The exterior walls are made of 20,000 granite pieces, and the irregular rock facade reflects multiple shadows, echoing the area’s special topography and energy. For Kengo Kuma, each challenge he encountered was an opportunity to execute an unexpected feat of daring.

Kuma, who was named by Time magazine as the world's most influential architect in 2021, has a philosophy; buildings are man-made objects that are destined to be cut away from their environment. Therefore, his mission is to explore and enrich the connection between architecture and the land.

No one could have imagined that Kuma, who delivered post-modernist works in the 1990s and was known for his wildly eccentric M2 building outside Tokyo, would later combat the object-oriented bias prevalent in contemporary design. Kuma’s theory of “negative architecture,” a concept he developed himself, seeks new ways of thinking about architecture in a critical spirit. Negative is not an expression of loss, but rather a desire to return to the original, to make architecture a supporting role and put the environment in the forefront.

Kadokawa Culture Museum responds to the topographical features of Tokorozawa. The rough walls of the pavilion are evocative of caves where early humans lived, providing a sense of infinite security. The staggered shelves hold every book ever published by Kadokawa, one of the biggest publishers in Japan. This resembles the human brain, where infinite information is stored.

"Human beings define their existence by moving,” Kuma once wrote in a book. “I am more like the state of being a tree, the state of growth that leaves its own trail." This has led directly to his ongoing questioning of architectural patterns: what kind of architectural patterns might emerge without a deliberate quest for symbolism, for visual needs, or selfish satisfaction?

The growth of the world's urban population by three billion since 1975, mostly in Asian cities, has triggered a uniform aesthetic in architecture. Flat towers, skyscrapers, highway networks, and the pursuit of ultimate functionality dominate the architectural thinking of the twenty-first century.

According to Kuma, when skyscrapers reach for the sky, they lose their roots. Kadokawa Culture Museum is his attempt to unravel the mystery of the developing city; to find out what the future of urban architecture is while also trying to create a space that is more in-tune with the earth.