Kusugibashi Bridge / Kengo Kuma & Associates

Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Year: 2022
Photographs: Katsumasa Tanaka
Design Team: Minoru Yokoo, Shun Horiki, Toshiro Ota, Rikuro Sakaushi, Hossam Elbrrashi, Tomohiro Matsunaga
Construction: Nichiei Kogyo, Yuri Kensetsu Kogyo
Cooperation: OAKplus
City: Iwakuni
Country: Japan

Rebuilt after its destruction in the Western Japan Flood of July 2018, the Kusugibashi Bridge in Osogoe, Shuto Town, Iwakuni City, now stands as a wooden bridge symbolizing community resilience. Supported by donations from Asahi-Shuzo brewery, producers of Dassai sake, the design integrates an RC frame with 105-square cypress balustrades, reflecting the surrounding mountain range’s curves and evoking a nostalgic, human scale. Combining traditional Japanese carpentry with modern computational design, the bridge achieves a unique, soft expression not typically seen in civil engineering structures.

“I was looking for a softer material than concrete — and wood seemed like the best solution.”
Interview with Kengo Kuma of Kengo Kuma and Associates

Kusugibashi bridge / kengo kuma & associates

In Osogoe, Shuto Town, Iwakuni City, a bridge destroyed by the Western Japan Flood in July 2018 was reconstructed as a wooden bridge, envisioned as a new symbol for the community.

Flanking the bridge are the factory and store of “Dassai,” a Japanese sake produced by the Asahi-Shuzo brewery, renowned for its distinctive brewing methods. The brewery contributed to the project by donating funds to cover the wooden portion of the construction costs.

To address the risk of recurring disasters, the bridge features a reinforced concrete (RC) frame combined with 105-square cypress balustrades. The arrangement of the cypress members forms a gentle curve that mirrors the surrounding mountain range. Utilizing 105-square members, a standard size in Japanese wooden construction lends the bridge a nostalgic and human-scaled character.

The bridge merges Japan’s esteemed carpentry traditions with modern computational design technology, resulting in a humanized and gentle aesthetic that is unprecedented in conventional civil engineering structures.