kengo kuma and associates invites community participation
Kengo Kuma and Associates’ Bamboo Gate is the newest addition to the Mabi Reconstruction Disaster Prevention Park in Kurashiki City. In July 2018, the region in Japan was scarred by devastating torrential rains, with resulting flooding destroying small towns and rural pockets. In an effort of resilience and repair, the studio’s proposal presents a community facility and a storage warehouse to serve as a base for disaster prevention and interaction, conceived in collaboration with citizens of the city using local bamboo.
The structure rises from the levee that fell during the prior disaster as two circular volumes bridged by a sculptural, undulating roof. In its organic, low-lying silhouette, the architecture creates a gate-like portal embracing its natural context from all sides.
all images by Kawasumi-Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office
bamboo gate at mabi reconstruction disaster prevention park
Principles of regeneration — cultural and architectural — lead the concept, supported by the national government to create a new disaster-prone public space for Mabi. Bamboo Gate’s structure thus intertwines local materials and community needs, with bamboo — a signature material of the town — cladding the elevation and interiors. With the design grounded in its local vernacular, Kengo Kuma and Associates has carved an expansive opening through the center of the structure to act as a visual conduit. This ‘gate’ aligns the axis of the city with the serene Oda River and its surrounding mountains, weaving urban life with the natural landscape.
In functionality, the Tokyo-based architects have devised a dual-purpose program, with one volume housing a community center and the other an emergency storage facility, linked by vast wooden beams that echo traditional Japanese architectural techniques while embracing contemporary structural innovation. These beams extend outward, creating deep eaves that facilitate ventilation and shelter visitors from both the glare of the sun and the rain’s onslaught — a practical nod to the unpredictable climate and a gesture of hospitality in the vastness of the park.
Bamboo Gate is the newest addition to the Mabi Reconstruction Disaster Prevention Park
completed by Kengo Kuma and Associates
with a low-lying silhouette
the bamboo’s organic forms echo the engulfing natural landscape