Rising from the Ashes

A decade after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Matsunaga Kiln has been given a fresh start in a new location thanks to the smarts and sensitivity of to-ripple CEO Naoya Tochio. Here, he shares more about the project

Design Anthology : How did you first meet the client?

Naoya Tochio: I worked on a hotel project that involved creating a room for post-disaster reconstruction after the earthquake, and Matsunaga Kiln made the original ceramics for the room. Although it was only a small part of the project, we were able to gain the client's trust as we worked together.

What was their brief to you for this project?

Matsunaga Kiln was formerly located in Namie, a town in Fukushima, where it produced ōbori sōma ware, a pottery craft typical of the region. The Great East Japan Earthquake happened in 2011, but nine years later the town was still designated an evacuation zone and was difficult to return to. So, the kiln decided to relocate to Nishishirakawa County and make a fresh start with this project, which includes a new roadside store and studio.

What makes the location unique?

The surrounding area is quiet, with a few low-rise houses and rice fields. There’s strong westerly winds and you can see the Ōu Mountains. Because of the snowfall in winter, the area is lined with buildings that have sloping roofs.

How did you approach the project — what design references or narrative did you try to incorporate into the space?

One feature of traditional ōbori sōma ware is its double-layered structure that enables the ceramic to hold boiling liquid without the vessel becoming too hot to touch. We wanted to incorporate and express this feature in the architecture.

Based on the surrounding landscape and the area’s climate, we adopted a simple house with a slight slope for the snowfall. We placed two of these house structures side by side and then surrounded them with a larger house to create a kind of double-layered structure. An open space was created in the periphery, an important area that provides heat insulation, light, structure and storage.

We built a conceptual house-like facade and lifted the entire building by 40 centimetres to give the impression of weightlessness. Closer to the structure, you can see a series of house shapes inside as well. Rooms with specific purposes like the potter’s wheel room and the kiln room are placed together in the ‘inner houses,’ while the rest is left as a blank space to serve as a store or gallery. The circulation is designed so that guests can see the production process from the gallery-store while enjoying the shopping experience.

Please tell us about some of the custom pieces for the space.

We custom made the cash register counter out of used carborundum, a structural material used for firing pottery in the kiln.

Do you have a favourite element or design detail in the architecture?

The structural frame and top lights are a favourite feature. The frame is made of wood and spans seven metres, and we avoided using pillars to increase the functionality of the workshop and enable a variety of layouts. The lights installed in the top frame gently illuminate the interior throughout the day.

Images / Kenji Masunaga