A bridge in Osogoe, Shuto Town, Iwakuni City destroyed by the Western Japan Flood in July 2018, was rebuilt as a wooden bridge that will become a new symbol for the community.
On both sides of the bridge are the brewery and store of “Dassai”, a Japanese sake produced by Asahi-Shuzo brewery known for its unique sake production, which covered the wooden part of the construction cost by donation.
Considering the risk of recurring disasters, a RC frame was combined with 105-square cypress balustrades. The arrangement of the cypresses created a gentle curve that echoed the surrounding mountain range, and the use of 105-square members, the most used member-size in Japanese wooden construction, created a bridge with a nostalgic human scale.
By combining Japan’s proud carpentry skills with the modern technology of computational design, a human and soft expression that has never been seen before in conventional civil engineering structures was created. Source by Kengo Kuma and Associates.
- Location: Yamaguchi, Japan
- Architect: Kengo Kuma and Associates
- Project Team: Minoru Yokoo, Shun Horiki, Toshiro Ota, Rikuro Sakaushi, Hossam Elbrrashi*, Tomohiro Matsunaga
- Construction: Nichiei Kogyo, Yuri Kensetsu Kogyo
- Cooperation: OAKplus
- Year: 2022
- Photographs: Katsumasa Tanaka
