tezuka architects rebuilds second phase of asahi kindergarten in japan

in 2012, tezuka architects constructed a kindergarten using local cedar trees damaged by saltwater after japan’s devastating 2011 tsunami. the project, which was backed by UNICEF, featured a series of interlocking joints that came together to contain a large room that could be subdivided according to changing requirements. ‘the great thing about timber is that you can keep the continuation from the structure to the small details,’ architect takaharu tezuka told designboom in an interview earlier this year. ‘often kids touch timber, as they feel it is natural, but they don’t do this with concrete.’

video © katsuhisa kida / fototeca

four years later, tezuka architects returned to the site to complete the second phase of the project. this involved significantly enlarging the asahi kindergarten to accommodate the children of families who had returned to the region five years after the tsunami. as there were no more large trees for the architects and their team to use, smaller ones were used to maintain consistency across the site.

all images © katsuhisa kida / fototeca

other challenges came as a result of changes to the site’s landscape, which looked considerably different four years later. as the area had developed into a residential district, the surrounding terrain had been lowered, meaning that the original structure now perches at the top of a small hill adjoining a number of other school buildings. the man-made landscape has been transformed into a sloping playground, where children can explore the area beneath the timber structure.

children are encouraged to explore the underside of the kindergarten