Xinjin Zhi Museum is located in Xinjin County, near the city of Chengdu. It serves as a kind of entrance to the revered Taoist sanctuary; the exposition is composed of various works of religious art.
A gallery running in a spiral along the perimeter of all three floors of the building takes visitors to the roof, from where a view of the picturesque landscape opens. This solution emphasizes the vigor of the outlines of the building, its pointed corners and cantilever extensions. The façade is closed from the outside by a “curtain” of tiles suspended from metal lines, made from local materials in a traditional manner. This permeability made it possible to connect the building and the environment, while protecting the interior from the sun's rays.
The project of a community center for the elderly in Rikujentakata is the result of international cooperation. The architectural project itself was carried out by the Kuma bureau and its laboratory at the University of Tokyo, but its customers and "developers" were the Italian Catholic community of Saint Egidius and the charity organization Italians for Tohoku, created to help victims of the disaster in March 2011. The initiative is supported by the Italian Embassy in Japan.
Now fundraising is under way to build a wooden openwork structure, the shape of which is inspired by the lotus leaf. Kengo Kuma with such a symbol wished to remind of the importance of harmony with the environment - especially in the field of architecture and construction. It is also an attempt to reconcile the inhabitants of Rikudzentakata with nature, which has caused them a lot of troubles recently: the catastrophic tsunami almost completely washed this city off the face of the earth. This plan can be compared to the initiative of Shigeru Bana, who built in the earthquake-destroyed Italian city of L'Aquila
a concert hall as its own charity project.
N. F.
