We all know that buildings don't always turn out like the renderings. Last-minute changes and real-life materials can all cause discrepancies between the vision and reality of a project. In our weekly Flash Forward Friday feature, we take a look at how different projects stack up.

At 204 metres and 50 storeys, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is only the 19th tallest building in Tokyo, but what it may lack in height, it makes up for in design. Named the 2008 Skyscraper of the Year by Emporis.com, the unconventional skyscraper houses three vocational schools under one roof: the fashion school Tokyo Mode Gakuen; HAL Tokyo, an information and technology school; and Shuto Iko, a medical school. 

Artist's illustration of the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, image via Tange Associates

Renderings for the building surfaced after Tange Associates was selected as the winner of a design competition, an intense process that generated over 150 proposals from approximately 50 architects. The only condition? The building's shape couldn't be rectangular. As intended, the competition delivered some unorthodox proposals, with Mode Gakuen ultimately settling on Tange's cocoon-like tower. 

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, image by Flickr user Dick Thomas Johnson via Creative Commons

Its cocoon shape was meant to nurture the students inside, and an artist's illustration depicted a web of white aluminum criss-crossing the dark blue glass envelope. It also portrayed an adjacent egg-shaped structure, which would house two auditoriums of about 1,000 seats. The elliptic shape of the building would allow a larger amount of space at the ground level to be landscaped. 

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, image by Flickr user Alessandro Grussu via Creative Commons

Construction began in May 2006 and was completed in October 2008. The building's execution was largely in line with what was promised, though the neighbouring low-rise structure is clad in a different skin than was depicted. The aluminum latticework on the tower was originally intended to grace the ancillary building as well, though in reality, the auditoriums are sheathed in a tessellated triangular exterior.

Each floor of the vertical campus contains three rectangular classrooms surrounding the inner core. The building features a series of three-storey student lounges located between the classrooms, with views towards the east, southwest, and northwest. A gateway between Shinjuku Station and the Shinjuku central business district, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is among Tokyo's most striking new landmarks.