Located in Akita Prefecture, close to the National Park of Towada-Hachimantai, the city of Kazuno is famous for the Oyu Onsen hot springs, with a history of over 800 years. The construction of the new community center is meant to improve the region’s tourist offer, gathering amenities like a shop, a cafeteria, an information point, an open-air theater, a park, a footbath, and biotope under one same large roof. The project includes the artisanal knowledge of the region of Akita through a piece known as mage wappa, a cylindrical basket that is traditionally used to transport food, and that is reinterpreted here to create transparent partitions like shelves. Made with laminated veneer lumber, the cylinders are assembled together creating a repetitive pattern that gives the ensemble a distinctive image and adds a degree of variety to the large elongated space.

Outside, the landscape design consists of a series of elements that make reference to the nearby natural environment like a pond along the north facade where visitors can cool off their feet, a small hot lake, and a hill covered with vegetation.