kengo kuma spirals mesh cages for mushizuka insect mound in japan

kengo kuma spirals mesh cages for mushizuka insect mound in japan
all images courtesy of kengo kuma associates
image © noboru aoki (shincho-sha) 

kengo kuma‘s latest installation sees the creation of ‘mushizuka’- a site specific, transparent mound for insects. located on the grounds of kamakira’s kencho-ji temple in kanagawa, japan. traditionally, monuments are made from solid materials such as bronze and stone but in this case, the architect has reinterpreted it with his approach of using stainless steel, wire grids. the result is a collection of forty cages positioned and stacked up- encircling a beetle sculpture in the center and reflecting insects gliding in the sky. instilling a sense of weightlessness, the grid boxes have been covered in a layer of a combined clay mixed with local earth and glass fiber, thus giving the installation a unique texture while highlight the form of each mesh cage.

mushizuka is a transparent mound for the resting place for insects
image © noboru aoki (shincho-sha)

close up of the cages
image © noboru aoki (shincho-sha)

 the mesh is clay-sprayed by ‘shohei hasado’, which contains glass fiber and local earth
image © noboru aoki (shincho-sha)

aerial view of the 40 boxes stacked in a spiral to express the insects gliding high in the sky
image © noboru aoki (shincho-sha)