COMICO ART MUSEUM YUFUIN | Kengo Kuma and Associates

There is a small museum for contemporary art, near a famous hot spring resort in Kyushu which has fostered a unique local culture in the nearby town of Yufuin. In order to highlight the thickly forested mountains which frame the Yufuin basin and thus the art work exhibited in the museum, we covered the building with yakisugi (charred cedar). This is a treatment in which we carbonize the surface of a cedar panel, resulting in a much more durable material. Yakisugi has been commonly used on the exterior of buildings, particularly in western Japan. The structure appears as a deep-black volume from afar, but moving closer reveals the warmth of the wood and a unique scaly pattern of the cedar. By rowlocking the cedar panel randomly, the wall (with a height exceeding 40m) was given a strong rhythm, harmonizing with the townscape of Yufuin. The two facing exhibition rooms seem to observe each other over a shallow pool which extends from the exterior. To provide a contrast with the two minimally finished volumes, the lounge on the 2nd floor is wrapped with wood and washi, while the dry landscape connected to it is arranged as a garden for contemplating the noble presence of Yufu-dake (Mount Yufu).

温泉観光地として独自の文化を育んできた由布院にたつ、現代アートのための小さな美術館。由布院盆地を彩る青々とした山々と、展示される現代アートを引き立てるために、黒い焼杉で建物を覆った。焼杉とは杉板の表面を焼くことで炭化させて耐久性を高めた素材で、西日本では外壁材として伝統的に使われてきた。遠目では真っ黒のヴォリュームだが、間近で見ると焼杉特有のウロコ模様や木の温もりが伝わってくる。焼杉をランダムに小端立てにすることで、40mを超える壁面に深いリズムを与え、街並みのリズムとシンクロさせた。
独立した二つの展示室は、屋外から入り込む水盤をはさむ形で静かに向かい合う。ミニマルな展示空間とは対照的に木と和紙で包まれた2階ラウンジと、それにつながる枯山水の庭は、凛としてそびえたつ由布岳を仰ぎみるための前庭として調えられている。