Stone Plaza
Japan Tochigi Nasu
Kengo Kuma and Associates
© Mitsumasa Fujitsuka
This museum exhibiting stone arts and crafts was constructed using Ashino stone from the Ashino district in Nasu-machi, Tochigi Prefecture.
By preserving four Taisho Era (1912-1926) stone storehouses built with Ashino stone and assembling units of stone to add a new building to the same site, we created a new museum open to the community. Stone is a heavy material and tends to result in spaces that feel closed-off, but we took on the challenge of designing new details such as stone louvers and porous masonry so as to emphasize both the texture of the stone and the openness of the space. The objective was to shed fresh light on the historic post-town of Ashino, on the old Oshu Kaido route, with this small museum focusing on the theme of local Ashino stone.
By preserving four Taisho Era (1912-1926) stone storehouses built with Ashino stone and assembling units of stone to add a new building to the same site, we created a new museum open to the community. Stone is a heavy material and tends to result in spaces that feel closed-off, but we took on the challenge of designing new details such as stone louvers and porous masonry so as to emphasize both the texture of the stone and the openness of the space. The objective was to shed fresh light on the historic post-town of Ashino, on the old Oshu Kaido route, with this small museum focusing on the theme of local Ashino stone.