The inner courtyard of the Student Support Center building, named SAPONIWA (short for ‘Student Support Center Garden’ in Japanese) will be open for use from November 2014. The open-air space can be used freely on weekdays by students and staff to relax, have lunch, coffee breaks, meetings, presentation meetings or other activities. It is also possible to rent the space for exclusive use by applying in advance.

Background

In 2013 a competition was launched to make a proposal for the inner courtyard of the newly renovated Student Support Center building. Three proposals were selected; one focusing on space design, another on how the courtyard could be used and the third one emphasizing the role it should play. Because the three winning proposals so beautifully complemented each other, the student designers were asked to work together to realize their concepts. It resulted in a multifunctional space, free, open and visible for anyone to use and functioning both as a garden and classroom. The design team also thought of the name and logo (see attached poster).

Opening event

The SAPONIWA courtyard will be officially opened on Friday 31 October. We hope the space will be actively and creatively used by all students and staff and welcome everyone to join the opening.

• SAPONIWA poster.pdf