CoFuFun
In June 2017, the Japanese design studio Nendo completed a massive new urban plaza near Kyoto, Japan.
CoFuFun, located outside Tenri Station, is Nendo’s largest project to-date, and their first public space. It takes its design inspiration from ancient Japanese tombs known as ‘cofun’. The landscape of the plaza, punctuated by the cofun, is intended to represent the characteristic geography of the Nara Basin area, which is surrounded by mountains.
The plaza’s name combines ‘cofun’ with ‘fufun’ which is a Japanese expression meaning ‘happy, unconscious humming’.
Pieces of a precast concrete mould were fitted together to create the white, disc-shaped cofun structures. A low cost was achieved by using the same factory moulds several times, creating a precise and easy-to-assemble structure pieced together like building blocks using cranes.
Some of the cofun structures are domed while others depress into amphitheatres. The different levels serve as stairs and benches, with lighting effects that flood the plaza at night.
According to Nendo, ‘it is an ‘ambiguous’ space that’s entirely a café, a playground and a massive piece of furniture, all at once.’
In an attempt to encourage children to play, the innermost circle of one of the amphitheatres is bouncy. Play equipment, a bike rental service and an outdoor stage area also provided.
Content and images courtesy of Nendo.
Photography is by Daici Ano, Tadashi Endo, Kokuyo, Takumi Ota and Akihiro Yoshida.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
2023 HSE data on workplace injuries and ill health
And CIOB's response.
Building Safety Act and Secondary Legislation
Presidential update from CIAT's Eddie Weir PCIAT.
Starting pistol Statement for an election campaign?
Rates freeze, NI cuts, full expensing; early election?
Positive pressure or positive input ventilation
Could this be a remedy for condensation, damp or mould?
Unlocking a Healthier Tomorrow
Report on Social housing retrofit in Scotland 2023
Call for ministerial group and National Retrofit Delivery Plan.
The Great Transformation 1860–1920. Book review.
2023 Autumn Statement in brief with reactions
Including the devolved governments, CIOB, ECA, APM and IHBC.
Irish Life Sciences HQ, an exemplar of adaptive reuse
AT awards small to medium size project category winner.
Formal and informal adaptive re-use or new use of buildings.
Broken Record. Emissions Gap Report 2023
Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again).
Environment Agency cuts waste red tape
No longer enforcing certain waste transfer documentation.
APM Project Management Awards 2023
Winners reactions during the event at the Park Plaza Hotel.
BSRIA Living Laboratory Innovation Challenge
An exciting opportunity for stakeholders to collaborate.
Discussing issues related to inside and outside air quality
Report from the BSRIA Briefing 2023, Cleaner Air, Better Tomorrow.