Project description by Kengo Kuma and Associates
Beside the Aoi Aso Shrine with a thatched roof which is a national treasure, we built a new assembly hall that combines a shrine office, museum, and a large tatami room that is used as a place for interaction in the local community.
To counteract the overwhelming power of the shrine that consists of a sudden primitive, ancient pile of grass on top of a delicate woven structure, wooden louvres which have undergone flame retardant treatment were used to create the coarse rhythm of the many gaps and slight camber of the thatched roof, consisting of a challenge of contemporary vocabulary and technology. We felt that the construction method of overlapping layers on top of metal roof seams that have been repeatedly used since the Hiroshige Museum of Art had various possibilities hidden when bringing back the porous soft texture of thatched roofs in a contemporary setting.
A fallen 400-year-old Sano cedar tree from the Sano Shrine in Miyazaki Prefecture was used to make the columns that support the large roof. This large tree was about the same age as the shrine which is a national treasure.
Aoi Shrine Grobe, National Treasure Memorial Hall by KKAA. Photograph by Masaki Hamada / Kkpo, courtesy of Masatoshi Hoshino / Hoshino Design Conscious.
Hitoyoshi was struck by a record-breaking torrential rain immediately before the groundbreaking, and the muddy waters of the Kumagawa River washed away all of the handrails on the Misogi Bridge in front of the shrine, resulting in inundation above the floor level, we were prepared for the possibility of having to start from scratch. However, the surprising passion of Mr. Fukukawa, the chief priest of the shrine, and the local people to facilitate recovery resulted in the building being completed nearly as planned.
Kengo Kuma was born in Yokohama (Kanagawa, Japan) in 1954. He studied architecture at the University of Tokyo, finishing his degree in 1979. In 1987, he opened the "Spatial Design Studio". In 1990 he founded "Kengo Kuma & Associates" and extend the study to Europe (Paris, France) in 2008. Since 1985 and until 2009, has taught as visiting professor and holder at the universities of Columbia, Keio, Illinois and Tokyo.
Main Awards:
· 2011 The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for "Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum."
· 2010 Mainichi Art Award for “Nezu Museum.”
· 2009 "Decoration Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" (France).
· 2008 Energy Performance + Architecture Award (France). Bois Magazine International Wood Architecture Award (France).
· 2002 Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award (Finland).
· 2001 Togo Murano Award for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum.”
· 1997 Architectural Institute of Japan Award for “Noh Stage in the Forest”. First Place, AIA DuPONT Benedictus Award for “Water/Glass” (USA).
