![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Image 1 of 12](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/dfa2/f197/ccc1/c100/0070/newsletter/PJG_MG_8935_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946588)
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Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
- Area: 1431 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Jeremy Bittermann
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Manufacturers: Pure + FreeForm, DNP, INAX, Kawashima Selkon, Komatsu Seiren, Lixil Corporation, Nakamura Komuten, Time & Style Inc
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Architect of Record: Hacker Architects
![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Image 5 of 12](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df4b/f197/cc65/0600/0039/newsletter/PJG_MG_7097_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946501)
Text description provided by the architects. Portland Japanese Garden's new Cultural Village is a modest, human-scaled set of buildings arranged around a courtyard plaza, whose fourth side is the existing, untouched gardens from the 1960s. The project is a village positioned along a journey from the city to the top of the hill, a form of modern monzenmachi wherein the pilgrimage pays homage to the spirit of nature.
![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Stairs, Handrail](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df83/f197/ccc1/c100/006f/newsletter/PJG_MG_7625_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946556)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df54/f197/ccc1/c100/006c/newsletter/KKAA_PJG_3-PLAN_1F_VILLAGE.jpg?1528946512)
![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Image 6 of 12](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df5c/f197/cc65/0600/003a/newsletter/PJG_MG_6404_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946517)
There are four buildings, each with its own means of merging into the dramatic slopes of the terrain, in combination with the tall vertical lines of the Pacific Northwest conifers: the Ticketing Pavilion floating above gentle stepped ponds, the Tea Cafe hovering above the ravine, and the main Village House and Garden House.
![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df97/f197/cc65/0600/003d/newsletter/PJG_MG_8184_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946577)
Although the architecture is deferential to the landscape, the key device is the zigzagging roof—creating deep overhangs of soft metal and lush vegetation, and a porous boundary to encourage a direct relationship with the renowned Portland rain, and its temperamental sun—in a soft, indeterminate, and flexible border.
In collaboration with Sadafumi Uchiyama (landscape design), Hacker Architects, Walker Macy.
![Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village / Kengo Kuma & Associates - Facade, Courtyard](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b21/df6d/f197/cc65/0600/003b/newsletter/PJG_MG_7137_F_Jeremy_Bittermann.jpg?1528946535)