The Snowpeak Roof by Kengo Kuma
Kengo Kuma creates a multi-purpose store with a stunning roof structure that has wooden joinery that acts more like an art form along with its structural function.
Kengo Kuma Architects Associates (KKAA) completed a multi-purpose building in Japan’s Nagano area. A store acts as a restaurant and also hosts a range of outdoor activities. The building has been designed for an outdoor lifestyle brand, the Snow Peak Land Station with an aim to catalyze the economic development of Hakuba — a village that had hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics, in Japan.
Kengo Kuma created a stunning large roof for the Snow Peak Land station that reflects the silhouette of Hakuba’s three mountain peaks. The roof follows the mountainscape behind with a large awning with magnificent carpentry joinery. The wooden framework for the roof is a take-off from the tree branches and the snow crystals.
The space is divided into segments using the same material or fabric used for tarps while the wooden frame gives an atmosphere of a cabin or wooden camp to mimic the feeling of being on an outdoor excursion. The space outside the building is used for camping outdoors as well.
The SnowpeakLandstation
Commercial Project
Area: 972.52 square meters
Construction Design: Shimizu Corporation