A Modern Twist on Traditional Japanese Design

Opened in early April, The Cultural Village at the Portland Japanese Garden is Kengo Kuma Associate’s first public project in the United States. Inspired by the Oregon landscape and traditional Japanese arts, Kuma has integrated interesting and thoughtful design nuances throughout the garden.  
One of the most stunning features is the Cultural Village’s green roofs. Inspired by traditional Japanese thatched roofs, the green roofs feature a sustainable material sourced from Japan, which is created from plant waste. When combined with sedum, it acts as a cooling device for the roof since it retains water, and absorbs sun. It also controls the drainage of heavy rain, and reduces heat outflow in the winter. 
To complement the green roof, PURE + FREEFORM created a specialized aluminum finish for Kengo Kuma Associates. The surface, called Celeste Stone, features a silver and white pearlescent ink with matte granite layers on top, creating a sense of substance and materiality. The marine grade aluminum also features a custom eight coat LUMIFLON exterior, which will allow the color and design to remain unchanged for decades to come. Functionally, the metal roofs feature terraced gutters which capture all the runoff and rainwater not collected by the green roof above. Aesthetically, the metal is Kuma’s reinterpretation of the tile found on
thatched Japanese roofs. 
All of PURE + FREEFORM’s materials are 100% recyclable, contain recycled content, contain no reportable VOC content and are single skin/noncombustible, which helped support the LEED Gold status of the project.