Cultural and tourism center,
design:Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)
Opposite the Kaminarimon Gate, leading to the historic Sensō-ji Buddhist temple in Tokyo's bustling Asakusa district, is a cultural and tourism center designed by the Kengo Kuma & Associates studio. The tower consists of eight stacked blocks, resembling small, separate houses.
A cultural and tourist center in the Asakusa district of Tokyo - the building consists of eight stacked blocks, resembling the shape of separate, single-story houses
photo by Takeshi Yamagishi © Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)
Eight solids, different roofs:
the varied form of a corner building
The building was designed on a 326-square-meter corner lot. The building consists of eight stacked volumes, resembling the shape of separate single-story houses topped with a sloping roof. The height and form of each house is different. What's more, the roofs used in the project take different forms - some are gabled, others mono-pitched. As a result, each part of the building is functionally and visually different, which gives the whole a complex character.
Cultural and tourism center in the Asakusa district of Tokyo - elevation drawing
© Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)
technical efficiency
and visual coherence
Spaces between the stacked volumes were used for technical installations and climate control systems, which allowed the interiors to maintain a clean form.All of the building's facades are glazed .To give the tower a consistent form, the exterior walls are finished with cedar slat cladding, spaced at different intervals depending on the interior needs for lighting and privacy.
A cultural and tourism center in the Asakusa district of Tokyo - all facades of the building are glazed and additionally finished with cedar strip cladding
Photo by Takeshi Yamagishi © Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)
Diverse functions in one building
The building houses a tourist information center, conference room, multi-purpose hall and exhibition space. Between the first and second floors is the lobby, from where the building's diagonal circulation routes are visible. On the sixth floor, a sloping roof creates a terraced space that can serve as a theater or conference room. The interior surfaces have been lined with wood, as have the two terraces above.
Cultural and tourism center in Tokyo's Asakusa district - interior view
photo by Takeshi Yamagishi © Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)
The project draws on traditional construction techniques used in Japan, harmoniously combining modernity with local heritage.
Elaborated: Anastazja Dżupina
Illustrations provided courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA).
