SunnyHills at Minami-Aoyama

Japan Commercial Environmental Design Association (JCD) Review

This is a pineapple cake shop, utilizing Japan’s traditional woodworking technique, the so-called “hell’s structure” of connecting wooden fixtures for its exterior and interior design. The intense wood elaboration of the three-layered external wall combined without nails makes this store stand out in the quiet residential area where it is located. Yet, it is as pure as a forest. The internal space is akin in its tranquility to the forest when the sunlight pours through the tree trunks. The features of this kind of design have to do with the epidermal layer in architecture. It connects to the physical integration of the outer layer and the structure, the architectural providence that Kengo Kuma has been pursuing for over twenty years in his travels to every corner of the world. Although Sunny Hills is a small shop, it is the ultimate example of Kuma’s motifs reaching their fulfillment through sophisticated craftwork.

Architectural design: Kengo Kuma
Award: JCD Design Award 2014 Gold Prize