Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Area: 585 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Kawasumi-Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office
Construction: UG Giken
Design Team: Shin Oba, Taiki Monaka, Kyoko Mase
Cooperation: Kozo Keikaku Engineering
Town: Kibichuo
Country: Japan
Kibi Kogen N Square, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates in Kibichuo, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, serves as a coworking and café-centered regional exchange hub. Developed by Systems Nakashima, the project utilizes Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), with panels measuring 2.2 meters wide, 35 meters long, and 21 centimeters thick. These panels are stacked at varying angles across a site with a 4-meter height difference, creating diverse spaces and openings. Reflecting openness and collaboration, the design fosters community engagement and cross-generational activities, involving local institutions like Okayama University.
“Concrete was not fitting for our period.”
Interview with Kengo Kuma of Kengo Kuma and Associates
This regional exchange and creative facility, focused on coworking and a café, is located in Kibichuo, a plateau town in central Okayama Prefecture. The project was initiated by the local company Systems Nakashima.
The structure and interior prominently feature CLT panels, with Okayama being Japan’s largest producer of this material.
The CLT panels, measuring 2.2 meters in width, 35 meters in length, and 21 centimeters in thickness, are arranged at varying angles across the site, incorporating a height difference of approximately 4 meters. This intentional angular misalignment generates diverse spaces and openings throughout the structure.
The open space departs from the closed and repetitive feel typically associated with conventional CLT structures, embodying the facility’s theme of openness and collaboration within the local community. It also integrates participation from Okayama University in the co-working space. These spaces are designed to foster interactions that transcend generational and industry-academia boundaries, encouraging diverse and dynamic activities.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: 4469-126 Yoshikawa, Kibichuo, Kaga District, Okayama Prefecture, 716-1241, Japan
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
