Concept
Donated to the city of Rikuzentakata – destroyed by a tsunami in 2011 – this project for a community house was born from a collaboration between Kengo Kuma and Associates, the Kengo Kuma lab at the University of Tokyo, the Italians for Tohoku volunteer association, the Embassy of Italy in Japan, and the NPO Comunita’ di Sant Egidio.
The shell is conceptually derived from the lotus leaf, an organism that floats on the surface of water symbolizing the delicate relationship between life and nature. Paving a path to design architecture with its surroundings, the structure is set upon a forested mound and is formed with local wood from Kesennuma, another area affected by the disaster.
The project was conceived to offer a public space with social and cultural value for residents, attempting to restore faith between humans and their natural environment.
