#1 July 14, 2017
Hello, We’ve just put together a newsletter in the hopes of keeping you up to date on our projects and office activities. We’re looking forward to regular distribution in the near future, and truly hope you enjoy hearing from us.
Kengo Kuma
ProjectsPortland Japanese Garden Cultural Village
Portland Japanese Garden's new Cultural Village is a modest, human-scaled set of buildings arranged around a courtyard plaza, whose fourth side is the existing, untouched gardens from the 1960s. The project is a village positioned along a journey from the city to the top of the hill, a form of modern monzenmachi wherein the pilgrimage pays homage to the spirit of nature. There are four buildings, each with its own means of merging into the dramatic slopes of the terrain, in combination with the tall vertical lines of the Pacific Northwest conifers: the Ticketing Pavilion floating above gentle stepped ponds, the Tea Cafe hovering above the ravine, and the main Village House and Garden House. Although the architecture is deferential to the landscape, the key device is the zigzagging roof—creating deep overhangs of soft metal and lush vegetation, and a porous boundary to encourage a direct relationship with the renowned Portland rain, and its temperamental sun—in a soft, indeterminate, and flexible border. In collaboration with Sadafumi Uchiyama (landscape design), Hacker Architects, Walker Macy. Read MoreProjectsINIAD HUB-1 Faculty of Information Networking for Innovation and Design, Toyo University
This campus in Akabanedai is dedicated to Toyo University’s new faculty focusing on the theme of IoT. Professor Ken Sakamura, who heads the Department of Information Networking for Innovation and Design (INIAD), is known as the leader of ubiquitous computing. We aimed to create the most cutting-edge IoT campus in the world, and sought ways to translate the free and open environment of ubiquitous computing into architecture. One of them was the design for the façade, which was realized with aluminum panels on which patterns of wood are directly printed. The panels are given a new type of texture, and are set randomly as though particles have been scattered around. They also function as sunlight control and the cover for the ventilation facility outside. The printed pattern on the panels has become effective in creating a warm and human atmosphere for the campus, too. Read MoreProjectsNarita Rehabilitation Hospital
This low-rise hospital, dedicated to patients who need rehabilitation, is located in satoyama (small wooded foothills) near Narita International Airport. Vegetation on the rooftop gently slopes and connects with the ground, merging with the forest surrounding the building. The exterior is clad with cedar louvers so that it creates multi-faceted expressions, responding to the subtle shadows of the trees. The patients' rooms are elevated to the second level. Large windows are set in front of the bed at each room, allowing patients to face the forest in close proximity, even during their private hours. The green rooftop works not only as the sequence to the ground, but also as the an exercise promenade for the patients. Read More