Those of you who have travelled with us to make traditional washi at ‘Kamikoya’ deep in the mountains of Shikoku will have visited the quaint town of Yusuhara.
Yusuhara is a major timber producing centre that was going into decline because of cheaper imported timber so several years ago the town invited Mr Kengo Kuma, one of Japan’s most famous contemporary architects, to design buildings for the town using local timber materials that would make it stand out and would attract more tourists.
This Kengo-san certainly did with some beautiful buildings including the ‘Kumo-no-Ue” hotel and resort with its amazing floating gallery.
He has designed the new 2020 Tokyo Olympic Stadium.
We came across this excellent article from the NY Times about him: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/t-magazine/kengo-kuma-architect.html