Shigeru Ban to design upside down Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre

International architect Shigeru Ban has been selected from 238 competition entries to design the new Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture.

The 4,300 square metre structure is based around an inversely shaped latticed cone, said to evoke the image of seeing the iconic mountain reflected in water.

The project celebrates Mount Fuji’s recent status as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and is expected to cost 2.4 billion Japanese yen ($23.5 million) to complete by 2016.

Shigeru Ban is known for his innovative and environmentally conscious designs, including the cardboard cathedral he constructed as a temporary replacement for an Anglican church destroyed in the 2011 New Zealand earthquake.

Image: Shigeru Architects

Image: Wikimedia

Courtesy Arch Daily and Shigeru Architects