Kengo Kuma and the Return of Timber
From small village projects to Tokyo's National Stadium, Kuma has made wood a central material of contemporary Japanese architecture.
Timber-lined eaves of the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, seen from the street. Photo: Pexels
Kengo Kuma likes to say that he wants to "erase" architecture — to make buildings that dissolve into their surroundings rather than dominate them. In practice, that has meant small pieces of material, often wood, assembled into screens, louvres and lattices that filter light and soften scale.
At a glance
- Architect
- Kengo Kuma
- Key project
- Japan National Stadium, Tokyo
- Completed
- 2019
- Signature
- Layered timber louvres, deep eaves
The most visible result is Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, completed in 2019. Its stacked eaves are lined with timber louvres, and wood sourced from all of Japan's prefectures was used on the outer eaves. Planting on the upper levels blurs the edge between the stadium and the surrounding green of Meiji Jingu Gaien.
Small before big
Kuma's approach was shaped by projects in rural Japan during the 1990s, when work in Tokyo was scarce and he spent time collaborating with local craftspeople. Those years taught him to start from the material and the place, rather than from an image.
Wood is not a style. It is a way of making buildings feel close.
A wider shift
Kuma is not alone. Advances in engineered timber and a renewed interest in forestry have encouraged many Japanese architects to build larger structures in wood. It is a return to a material Japan has worked with for centuries, now combined with new engineering.
