Japanese architect Kengo Kuma recently constructed this amoeba-shaped art gallery to accompany a shopping mall that his firm built near Taihu Lake in China. Kuma used Taihu stone for the gallery’s facade because of how its porous composition would interact with light—as well as its cultural significance in Taoism. Kuma’s most recent project is a capstone on a career RealClearLife is highlighting below.

(Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Kengo Kuma and Associates)

Daiwa Ubiquitous Computing Research Building in Tokyo

(Edward Caruso Photography/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Edward Caruso Photography/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Edward Caruso Photography/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

Tea House in Beijing

(Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners Inc.)

Nacasa & Partners inc.

(Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners Inc.)

Nacasa & Partners inc.

(Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners Inc.)

Nacasa & Partners inc.

City Hall in Nagaoka, Japan

(Erieta Attali/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Erieta Attali/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Erieta Attali/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

China Academy of Art’s Folk Art Museum in Hangzhou

(Eiichi Kano/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Eiichi Kano/Kengo Kuma and Associates)

(Eiichi Kano/Kengo Kuma and Associates)