RECUPERO · RECOVERY
Shima Kitchen is located at
the centre of the settlement of
about one hundred households
whereas Teshima Art Museum
stands in a patch of natural
landscape surrounded by rice
paddies and vegetable fields.
If the Art Museum was to
symbolize the recovery of
Teshima as an extraordinary
place, Shima Kitchen was
expected to be the centre of
the settlement representing
its daily life, and provide a
common space widely open to
visitors from outside.
The site is located within the
small settlement about five
minutes on foot from Teshima
Art Museum. The old house
was surrounded by vacant land
where other buildings had
been demolished a long time
ago. Two huge persimmon
trees and several fig trees on
the site are preserved. Three
sides of the building site face
gently sloping roads and one
side opens up to the view over
the Seto Inland Sea and the
adjacent lot that is lower than
the site. Since the old days it
had been a natural open space
where people of the village
would gather in summer under
the two big trees offering
shade with their many strong
branches stretching out.
We had an image of a large
roof structure that would
create a soft and flowing
42 paesaggio urbano 3.2013
roof line to connect the
site with its surroundings.
We changed the house
into an open style kitchen,
refitted the warehouse as
an art gallery, and extended
sunshade awning around the
trees to create an outdoor
theatre. The theatre was
based on a traditional NOH
style theater, with its stage
(butai), veranda (hashikake),
and gallery (sajiki), but was
designed to adapt to various
kinds of event programs
such as live music, modern
performance art, folk dance,
and community festivals.
An ordinary construction
project starts with a land
forming and excavating
works to lay the foundation,
but we did not want such
a major construction work.
Instead we were aiming for
an architecture that would
be very inconspicuous,
that would blend in the
surrounding settlement. For
this purpose, a construction
method was devised to prevent
large-scale earth moving and
heavy construction machines
that would disrupt the daily
life of the residents. Such a
construction method would
also minimize the energy
consumption of the project.
The time given for the project
was very short, in fact, only
four months from the planning
to completion. Due to the
strict budgetary constraints, it
was decided to hire businesses
on the island or in its vicinity
for the execution of the works
wherever possible, and to use
constructi on methods and
materials that are simple and
easily available that would
enable partly do-it-yourself
construction.
Spiral steel flat bar piles for
agricultural greenhouses
were used for the foundation,
because they are simple
to lay and do not require
large-scale construction
work. Easily available 32mm
water pipes were used as
the supporting columns and
structural members of the
roof frame. The roof itself
is made of Japanese cedar
planks. They cover the roof
surface like fish scales and
form three-dimensional
curves, which make them
look primitive and organic
at a glance. However, the
structural frame of the roof
is geometrically arranged
to flow radially from the
central persimmon trees. It is
a rational and sophisticated
structural design.
The roof material is an
adaptation of the Japanese
cedar planks, commonly used
on the island for exterior
walls. The cedar planks are fire
charred wooden panels that
have traditionally been used
in this part of the country,
and no special water-proofing
or finishing was applied.
The roof height is three
meters at the maximum and
only ninety centimeters at
the lowest point. Approaching
the site via a narrow alleyway
that runs from north to
south, you can clearly see
that the site is covered by
a soft roofline, with the
persimmon trees standing
in the middle. Thanks to the
gentle lines of the roof that
mark the outlines of the
open-air space, and the lower
height of the roof than that
of the surrounding houses,
the structure naturally
blends with the surrounding
settlement and landscape. The
sunshade roof extends the
gabled roof’s form in a way
that it fits harmoniously into
the surrounding landscape of
the village, without disturbing
the serene atmosphere. Thus
it creates an intimate village
gathering place that evokes
a pleasant feeling of being in
the shade of trees.
During the design phase,
it was predicted that the
roof material would be
worn over the years and
damaged by wind, rain,
and storms. But we did
not select a construction
method that would involve
more robust structure and
materials. We deliberately
selected an architecture that
would necessitate ongoing
maintenance works such
as re-roofing, so it will
continue to play a role in the
community’s common space.
This method derives from the
idea of Japanese traditional
community systems and
would also minimize the
project‘s energy consumption.
A human settlement is a
community of residents who
live together and help each
other. Similar to agriculture
and nature itself, could
a piece of architecture
also grow as if it were an
organic matter, through
continued improvement
efforts by people who help
one another? A once closed
community is now opening
up to regain its confidence
and pride through its food.
This space will continue to
exist. In the same way as
the persimmon trees that
transform themselves through
the four seasons and continue
to grow, could a man-made
structure transform itself?
We envisaged an architecture
that exists organically as if it
were an indigenous plant of
the island. Shima Kitchen has
become as much a part of the
local environment as if it was
an indigenous plant.