SunnyHills

Gazing up at the towering complexities of glass, steel, and concrete construction that populate Tokyo’s skyline, it is hard to imagine that the city was once a sanctuary of timber construction based on the human scale. In efforts to relive the intricate craftsmanship of older Tokyo – Kengo Kuma and Associates envisioned a three-dimensional lattice of narrow timber slats that form a cloud-like massing around the exterior of this pineapple cake shop named SunnyHills.

The firm was specifically asked by the cake brand to translate the careful preparation of its trademark pineapple cakes into the building design – hence, the architects responded through a volume inspired on a well-crafted bamboo basket.

To mimic the intricacy of a bamboo basket, a traditional method used in Japanese wooden architecture called “Jigoku-Gumi” was used. While wooden pieces are normally pieced together in two dimensions, SunnyHills showcase a distinct latticework tilted in 30 degrees in three dimensions, which forms its cubic form that resembles a cloud.

Over 5,000 meters of wooden slats were used to visualize the building’s precise three-dimensional grid that wraps its outer walls and ceilings. To highlight its multiple layers while minimizing its overall linearity, some pieces were trimmed shorter than the others.

The three-storey building opens at one corner, luring customers into the shop that occupies two of its lower floors. The first floor is plated in cork tiles, to which the architects also added a kitchen. The cork surface continues up to the second floor, where it houses a staff office and a meeting room. Vertical circulation is made from an assortment of staircase treads in varying widths, with unexpected accents of sprouting foliage.

As an entity that represents a visual dialogue between today’s innovations in parametric design with the traditional wood joinery techniques, SunnyHills in all its intricate latticework was able to exude high-level complexities, all the while maintaining the sensuality and intimacy of traditional Japanese architecture.