Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre: a new book published on David Chipperfield Architects’ Inagawa Chapel project in Japan

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!


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