Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre is designed by John Morgan studio and produced by Boenfukyukai Foundation in collaboration with David Chipperfield Architects. It is published in English and Japanese, distributed by Lixil Publishing, Tokyo, and Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne.
-text by the authors
The 136-page publication (250mm x 180mm) is bound with an exposed spine and printed on Takeo Satogami paper, reminiscent of the traditional washi paper.
It is arranged by season through the work of photographer Risaku Suzuki who visited the cemetery over the course of a year, capturing the changing conditions and atmosphere of the building and its interaction with the surrounding nature.
Risaku Suzuki’s images interleaf the texts which include an essay by Japanese author Toshiyuki Horie; a conversation between the photographer Thomas Struth, David Chipperfield and Hideyuki Osawa (Director of Boenfukyukai Foundation) examining art, architecture, patronage and cross-cultural connections; and reflections by Hideyuki Osawa and David Chipperfield on the ambitions and collaborative process of conceiving, designing and building the project.
The book also features a text by landscape architect Marcia Iwatate outlining the philosophy of the central wildflower garden and the mythical qualities of the carefully selected, primarily indigenous species it contains alongside delicate illustrations by Kishicri. The Japanese typesetting was set by Tetsuya Goto.
The Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Center, completed in 2017, is located at the base of the steeply terraced cemetery in the Hokusetsu mountain range of Hyogo prefecture, approximately 40 kilometres north of Osaka.
The building complex, arranged under a single sloping roof plane, is designed to serve as a threshold between the outside world and the quieter interior spaces for contemplation, gathering and commemoration held within.
Facts & Credits
Title Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre
Author David Chipperfield Architects
Design John Morgan studio
Production Boenfukyukai Foundation in collaboration with David Chipperfield Architects
Publisher Lixil Publishing, Tokyo & Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne
Publication year 2021
Pages 136
Binding Hardcover
Size 250mm x 180mm
Language English, Japanese
Photography Risaku Suzuki
See Inagawa Cemetery chapel and visitor centre by David Chipperfield Architects, here!
READ ALSO: Contemporary European Architecture ATLAS - European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 1988-2015