Recipient of the 2016 ARCASIA Award for Architecture “Building of the Year”
Sayama Lakeside Cemetery |
Sayama Forest Chapel

The “Sayama Forest Chapel” as described by Hiroshi Nakamura who was involved in the project, is a building that was designed “with the intention to create a sense of unity in which the architecture itself seems to be offering prayer together with the people praying inside.” A more pure and new type of gassho-style building was realized through a cruk framing structure in which sets of two columns are made to stand leaning up against each other. Covering the roof are aluminum-cast sheets each bearing a size of 180 x 200 mm and a thickness of 4 mm, developed in collaboration with the casting artisans of Kawaguchi City. Due to challenging ourselves to make the sheets as thin as possible in order to be able to bend them by hand, the manufacturing process had proved extremely difficult. Each handmade sheet had a different current mark, which created a distinct and characteristic demeanor. The Sayama Forest Chapel that has welcomed visitors since its opening in 2013 has received numerous international architecture awards, and last year was honored as the recipient of the 2016 ARCASIA Award for Architecture “Building of the Year.”