Akagi-jinja - Mixed Development Project
My father’s side own a shrine property in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is in the Kagurazaka area. They recently destroyed everything on their property (several houses, a shrine, a preschool, a smaller shrine…) and renovated it. A brand new shrine, with a brand new apartment complex (and some commercial for a cafe, store, etc.) - designed by a famous architect, Kengo Kuma.
I got really excited, so I’m stealing my sister’s photos she snapped on Facebook and putting them on here. It’s an interesting example… religious, residential, commercial development onto one site. Kind of like mixed-use. And a modern take on a traditional shrine structure.
Akagi-Jinja from the south entrance of the property. The striped building on the right is the apartment complex/retail.
The shrine complex itself. Very modern, very clean. I was at first kind of doubtful of this kind of modern shrine, but it turned out amazing!
Close-up of the shrine. The wood is so clean.
The shrine uses lots of glass, instead of lots of wood like traditional shrines. Let’s in a lot of light.
The apartment complex, designed by world famous architect Kengo Kuma. It’s just awesome - his style is traditional Japanese elements fused into modern style, incorporating lots of wood, lines, and light. Can’t wait to live here with my family!
The ground floor of the apartment complex incorporates green space like this. Closed off, just for aesthetic purposes. I think a store and cafe take up the rest of the bottom floor.
Anyways, I got really excited about this project because it’s finally almost done. We’ve been waiting forever! Last time I visited in winter, it was literally an empty lot after they cleared everything. So many memories here, I’m excited to see new construction.
Also, I’m going to just mention the difference between the mentality of historic preservation here in the States and Japan. Americans love historic preservation to a certain extent. In Japan, there seems to be less of a preservation aspect - homes are built to be rebuilt in 50 years or so. Interesting. Pretty sure destroying an old shrine like this (re-built after WWII) would not fly here due to preservation laws.
I talked to one of the main contributors to the Japanese CASBEE system (their version of LEED) and he mentioned that over there, the rating for new residential construction is much more important and significant, because of the frequency of homes being knocked down and re-built.
Especially in Los Angeles, churches have a lot of property like in the Crenshaw corridor. And with all of this new development and focus towards TODs, a good balance of uses including those that are faith-based need to be considered. But how will this go about?
