Kengo Kuma redesigns the reception hall for a temple in Japan as a colossal sculptural wooden structure

Kengo Kuma and Associates revamped and rejuvenated a reception hall for the ‘Kanjoin Temple’ of Shingon Buddhism. The hall is located at the edge of the  Okurayama Ridge in Yokohama, Japan, which is also incidentally Kengo Kuma’s hometown. The temple hall was built over 100 years ago, and the Kengo Kuma team erected a sculptural wooden structure next to it, that will serve as the reception hall. The structure is designed to be a monumental one, while also maintaining an element of sustainability. The distinct hall is designed to welcome the local community openly and heartily.

Designer: Kengo Kuma and Associates

As you look closer at the hall, you’re instantly wooed over by how dynamic and free-flowing it is. It’s not the kind of building that you can ignore easily, with a series of wooden louvers positioned together intricately, to create a piece of architecture that is quite sculptural and artistic in nature. The upper section of the wooden louvers is placed in a linear pattern, while the lower section ends at a different height entirely. The unique arrangement of the louvers and the abstract-ism of the hall give the impression that is it floating in the air, lending a rather visually intriguing air to it. “A set of laminated cedar louvers that follow a gradual slope wrap around the space like a membrane. Inspired by the decoration rafters of the main building featuring a traditional wooden architectural style, we proposed a new type of soft and modern under-eave space,” said the Kengo Kuma team.

The wooden louvers shade and shelter a 7-meter deep space, that functions as a gathering space within the perimeter of the temple – where community members can engage, interact,  and socially connect. The entire hall is marked by low openings, ensuring that the space is suitable for religious activities, and maintaining an atmosphere of serenity and tranquility as well.

The interiors of the space are incorporated with traditional Japanese elements such as – washi paper, wooden rails, and subtle spaces covered by shoji screens. The second floor has been integrated with partition walls, and they function as construction elements, completely eliminating the need for massive pillars. The lobby is also delicately connected to the main temple via multiple floor levels, hence providing a sense of continuity and circulation to the site.

The post Kengo Kuma redesigns the reception hall for a temple in Japan as a colossal sculptural wooden structure first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Japanese architect’s fairytale teahouse covered in a grassy facade is topped with a yakisugi-treated timber loft!

Japanese architect and architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori is known for his quirky teahouses and fondness for unusual city structures. His latest tea house transports an elf’s cottage from the pages of a fairytale to the concrete of Tokyo. Featuring grassy facades, timber treated with yakisugi, and a lofty vista point, the teahouse, called Goan, is sightly positioned in front of the new National Stadium of Tokyo where it remained until 5 September 2021 in celebration of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Poking out from the corner of one facade, visitors can crawl through a circular hole, traditionally known as a ‘Nijiriguchi,’ to gain entry to the tea room’s interior. Moving inside, visitors pass through the grassy exterior and are welcomed by an entirely unstained wooden first floor. Functioning as a reinterpretation of ‘Nijiriguchi,’ a small wooden staircase and ladder connects the bottom floor with the upper tea room.

Upstairs, visitors can enjoy a cup of tea and a view of the National Stadium designed by Kengo Kuma. From the outside, the upstairs tearoom inside Goan is visually separated from the first floor with a timber exterior constructed from yakisugi treated wood, a traditional Japanese method of wood preservation. The tea room is swaddled in polished natural wooden panels and furniture, giving the room an air of organic warmth.

Standing as one of eight pavilions that are designed to showcase Japan’s future of urban architecture and art, the Goan Teahouse was installed as part of the city’s Pavilion Tokyo 2021 initiative. The initiative coincided with the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where six world-renowned Japanese architects and two artists each designed a one-of-a-kind pavilion for fans of the games and city visitors and residents to enjoy.

Designer: Terunobu Fujimori

Plots of grass were used to cover the exterior of Goan, a natural choice for Fujimori. 

Inside, visitors access the upper tearoom via a wooden staircase and ladder, a reinterpretation of ‘nijiriguchi.’

Upstairs, visitors can enjoy a cup of tea and city views inside a room decked out in polished natural wood.

The National Stadium designed by Kengo Kuma is a direct sightline from the upper vista point inside the tearoom. 

Fujimori worked alongside undergraduate architecture students from Ouchida Laboratory to finish Goan. 

Fujimori’s plans for Goan are now on display at the Watarium Art Museum.

The post This Japanese architect’s fairytale teahouse covered in a grassy facade is topped with a yakisugi-treated timber loft! first appeared on Yanko Design.

A glittering timber pavilion in Tokyo is preparing for a journey back home to the Hiruzen Mountains!

In the heart of Harumi, Japan, Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), an architecture firm based in Japan, have designed a semi-open and temporarily placed pavilion for art performances, events, and showcases that will be deconstructed and repurposed in the future for another pavilion located in Hiruzen National Park of Japan’s Okayama Prefecture. Similar to the mountain’s summit in Hiruzen, Kengo Kuma’s pavilion was built and layered in such a way that depicts a melding of both the shoulder of a rocky mountain and a greenhouse drenched in sunlight.

The designers behind Harumi’s temporary pavilion used a steel frame as the structure’s base, over which CLT panels were overlaid to create a multi-paneled facade that spirals and crests towards the open sky. CLT panels, or Cross-Laminated Timber, are appealing for their prefabricated, lightweight yet durable quality and their neat installation process which has a low overall environmental impact. While the CLT panels form a zig-zag pattern and overlap one another from their orthogonal gluing process, exposed gaps of open-air needed covering. Preparing for fits of bad weather, KKAA bordered the gaps of air with transparent pieces of copolymer film called, TEFKA. On the reasoning behind choosing TEFKA to board up the pavilion, Dr. Kengo Kuma said that the weather-resistant film, “is lighter than glass and so pliable as to be rolled to transport it. It is [the] ideal material for relocation and reconstruction. It also has the perfect transparency we have sought.”

By implementing clear, glass-like plastic film to maintain a closed space within the pavilion, while maintaining the zig-zag pattern of the CLT patterns, shadows of sunlight turn this public pavilion into a glittering forest maze during peak sunlight hours. Additionally, inside the interior exhibition, odes to the natural world and forestry run rampant. In rooms like, “The Forest Room,” tornado-like, crossed panels of timber resemble the monolithic vigor and longevity of wooded forests. The CLT panels were made and provided by Meiken Lamwood Corporation in Maniwa, using timber from Japanese Cypress trees, obtained from Japan’s Okayama Prefecture, where the team at Kengo Kuma plan on relocating their semi-open-air pavilion. From the materials used to build this communal, natural space to the upcoming big move back to the CLT Park’s roots all work together in reminding us of how close we remain to the natural world and of the inevitable journey back for each of us.

Designer: Kengo Kuma and Associates

Inspired by Japanese bamboo weaving, Kengo Kuma’s shoes for ASICS are like ‘moving architecture’

Teaming up with the renowned Japanese Architect Kengo Kuma, ASICS has unveiled the latest edition of the Metaride, an all-white running shoe with a pattern inspired by Japanese Yatara bamboo-weaving, on the shoe’s body. The fabric strips wrap themselves in a seemingly chaotic way, but in fact, are strategically placed to hold the foot steady by binding with the shoe’s innovative Flytefoam base that uses cellulose nanofiber, a strong and lightweight wood-pulp derived material currently being researched and explored in Japan.

The shoe is described as ‘moving architecture’ by Kuma, who relied on the age-old technique of Yatara to provide aesthetic dynamism as well as a comfortable fit. The synthetic stripes wrap all around the shoe’s upper, securing your foot in place, while also cleverly forming the Asics stripe pattern on the side. The base is two-fold, with a brown midsole that breaks the all-white shoe’s design, and a white outsole at the bottom. The brown midsole is made from Flytefoam which uses cellulose nanofiber for strength and durability, while also remaining ecologically friendly. The CNF design gives the shoe’s sole its signature shape, with an upward-facing toe region that helps you run more comfortably. Right under the midsole is the white outsole which has a ‘Flytefoam Propel’ gel pad at the heel to give the shoe its enhanced cushioning and the wearer a literal spring in the step!

Designer: Kengo Kuma for ASICS