HAYAMA-TŌDŌ
Kanagawa
2022
2022
The site is located between Morito Beach and Hayama Marina, immediately by the sea and within earshot of the sound of the waves. In front, the flat expanse of Sagami Bay stretches out, with Mount Fuji rising behind the island of Enoshima. When evening comes, the rays of the sun sinking into the sea light up the hills which rise behind the site. The shore features outcrops of rock of the Hayama Group (Cenozoic marine deposits found along the Miura Peninsula) and fishermen’s sheds. The long white sand beach, which is popular with swimmers, evokes a long history of human activity in the area.
This is where 45R, an apparel brand with a sea-based lifestyle theme, chose to place its flagship store. From the narrow road that runs parallel to the site on the inland side, the main hall of Shōjōji Temple is visible on the hillside above. We therefore opted to treat the road leading to the site as a sandō, or temple approach road, and devised a temple-like shape for the building, so that it would appear to be part of the temple when viewed from sea. We placed a spire-shaped top light at the highest point of the dodecahedral roof to create a striking landmark. During the day, the top light acts like a sundial as the light it admits moves around the interior space. Come nightfall and it turns into a lighthouse, sending light out to sea. Since we had elicited the form of the building through a close reading of the place, we gave it the name Hayama-tōdō, or “Hayama Hall of Light” in English. In the interior, which also has twelve sides, the rafters rise from above the crossbeams at an angle toward the top light at the building’s apex. The rafters together support the whole structure, holding up the roof and enabling the realization of a column-free space. Under the crossbeams, we made generous openings that ensure you can really “feel” the horizon and the sea outside. The structure itself is made of wood. The wood used for the structural timber, crossbeams, rafters and joinery is all Sanbu-sugi, a type of cedar from Sanbu in nearby Chiba Prefecture. We purchased the logs a year before construction started and we made sure to be involved in the whole process, from drying to the different sawing stages. With more of a red tinge than regular cedar, Sanbu cedar is as hard as pine wood, making it an excellent material for harsh seaside environments. Using imported timber for the framework of buildings has become standard practice in Japan today. We, however, are acutely conscious of the importance of having a strong forestry industry that can help make Japan’s wooded mountains sustainable and reawaken people to the appeal of locally produced timber. In addition, we sought to bring upcycling into every part of the building, recycling thrown away stone materials and using an old wooden board for the store counter.
Architecture is part of the environment. In attempting to come up with an architecture that matches Japan’s climate, character and culture, it is of crucial importance to read the context of place and region. We picked out the Japanese cedar we used ourselves and then had frank exchanges with our highly skilled carpenters on matters of cutting and joinery. Once upon a time this would have been the obvious way of doing things, but for us it was a privilege and pleasure to get the chance to work on a traditional Japanese building of the kind which Japanese carpenters used to make all the time, but which are now becoming increasingly rare due to a focus on efficiency and the diversity of modern building styles.
Tomoyuki Sakakida
This is where 45R, an apparel brand with a sea-based lifestyle theme, chose to place its flagship store. From the narrow road that runs parallel to the site on the inland side, the main hall of Shōjōji Temple is visible on the hillside above. We therefore opted to treat the road leading to the site as a sandō, or temple approach road, and devised a temple-like shape for the building, so that it would appear to be part of the temple when viewed from sea. We placed a spire-shaped top light at the highest point of the dodecahedral roof to create a striking landmark. During the day, the top light acts like a sundial as the light it admits moves around the interior space. Come nightfall and it turns into a lighthouse, sending light out to sea. Since we had elicited the form of the building through a close reading of the place, we gave it the name Hayama-tōdō, or “Hayama Hall of Light” in English. In the interior, which also has twelve sides, the rafters rise from above the crossbeams at an angle toward the top light at the building’s apex. The rafters together support the whole structure, holding up the roof and enabling the realization of a column-free space. Under the crossbeams, we made generous openings that ensure you can really “feel” the horizon and the sea outside. The structure itself is made of wood. The wood used for the structural timber, crossbeams, rafters and joinery is all Sanbu-sugi, a type of cedar from Sanbu in nearby Chiba Prefecture. We purchased the logs a year before construction started and we made sure to be involved in the whole process, from drying to the different sawing stages. With more of a red tinge than regular cedar, Sanbu cedar is as hard as pine wood, making it an excellent material for harsh seaside environments. Using imported timber for the framework of buildings has become standard practice in Japan today. We, however, are acutely conscious of the importance of having a strong forestry industry that can help make Japan’s wooded mountains sustainable and reawaken people to the appeal of locally produced timber. In addition, we sought to bring upcycling into every part of the building, recycling thrown away stone materials and using an old wooden board for the store counter.
Architecture is part of the environment. In attempting to come up with an architecture that matches Japan’s climate, character and culture, it is of crucial importance to read the context of place and region. We picked out the Japanese cedar we used ourselves and then had frank exchanges with our highly skilled carpenters on matters of cutting and joinery. Once upon a time this would have been the obvious way of doing things, but for us it was a privilege and pleasure to get the chance to work on a traditional Japanese building of the kind which Japanese carpenters used to make all the time, but which are now becoming increasingly rare due to a focus on efficiency and the diversity of modern building styles.
Tomoyuki Sakakida
