In Iiyama, Nagano, Architect Kengo Kuma, who recently won the National Stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games, was chosen to design the Natyura Cultural Hall. This community complex features two large halls in addition to a civic center, providing the local population with a place to congregate and socialize. The inauguration coincided with the completion of a high-speed railway line connecting Japan’s hokuriku region.
We got a hint from roofed arcades called “Gangi,” which can be found in snowy regions in Japan. Its intimate space formed by a wooden frame and “doma (earth floor)” was revived here as a modern version of Gangi.
The town of Iiyama is located in Nagano prefecture, whose Japan Railway station lies on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line, which started its service in 2015. The project is a cultural complex of two halls and a community center, and we connected the spaces with an interiorized passage which we call Nakamichi.
We got a hint from roofed arcades called “Gangi,” which can be found in snowy regions in Japan. Its intimate space formed by a wooden frame and “doma (earth floor)” was revived here as a modern version of Gangi.
The roof of Nakamichi is supported by mixed structure of wood and steel. The entire space is made of such elements as locally produced timber, soft and moist floor like natural earth, washi paper made by local craftsmen, and creates an atmosphere that could not be felt in a typical publicly-funded facility often described as a closed box. The whole building is shaped like a hill and covered with a façade of COR-TEN and Japanese larch, morphing into the green rise at the back, making a contrast with the trains running nearby.
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