Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine is a historic shrine in Fukuoka in southern Japan. The shrine is 1100 years outdated, and just lately Sou Fujimoto designed a brief new corridor for it. Nevertheless, the corridor will solely be erect for 3 years, though it does look proper out of a Japanese fairy story. The minimal black corridor incorporates a floating forest on an oval roof, a flying plum tree, and sacred textiles that may solely be seen by a deity.
Designer: Sou Fujimoto
The brand new corridor has a fairly trendy tackle conventional shrine structure, particularly with the elliptical floating forest on the roof. The aforementioned sacred textiles have been designed by the Japanese style model Mame Kurogouchi, and crafted by generations-old Kyoto artisans. They’re positioned middle stage, and the inside sides cant be seen by human eyes, solely by the shrine’s deity.
“With this challenge, we had been confronted with the necessary query of how trendy structure can reply to a historical past of 1,100 years,” mentioned Fujimoto. “We thought concerning the wealthy nature that surrounds Dazaifu Tenmangu and the traditions of the shrine – and approached the design with a aware need to move these onto the longer term. We began this over two years in the past. It was a problem creating a brief constructing that’s each conventional and trendy, whereas additionally persevering with into the longer term. It’s quite simple nevertheless it carries an extended, necessary historical past.” he continued.
The clear matte black metal corridor opens up on all three sides. Bits of conventional shrine structure has been included throughout the construction, with a up to date contact – such because the light curvature of its louvered black wooden ceiling, impressed by the shrine’s taruki rafters, which create “spatial solemnity” based on Fujimoto. The roof incorporates a round skylight that enables pure mild to stream into the corridor, hitting the ground in entrance of the guests, as they pray.
Explaining the floating forest, Fujimoto provides: “Its idea derives from the legend of the flying plum tree. Plum timber and different vegetation appear to fly right here and dance, creating the roof of the deity’s dwelling. They’ll change colour because the local weather and seasons shift.” The floating forest provides a surprising inexperienced factor to the corridor, functioning not solely as an elaborate inexperienced roof but in addition as an exquisite legendary part.