https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXYgLj3Uy9U&feature=youtu.be
There is a small museum for contemporary art, near a famous hot spring resort in Kyushu which has fostered a unique local culture in the nearby town of Yufuin.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-02-876x1314.jpg)
In order to highlight the thickly forested mountains which frame the Yufuin basin and thus the art work exhibited in the museum, we covered the building with yakisugi (charred cedar).
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-03-876x584.jpg)
This is a treatment in which we carbonize the surface of a cedar panel, resulting in a much more durable material. Yakisugi has been commonly used on the exterior of buildings, particularly in western Japan.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-04-876x584.jpg)
The structure appears as a deep-black volume from afar, but moving closer reveals the warmth of the wood and a unique scaly pattern of the cedar.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-05-876x585.jpg)
By rowlocking the cedar panel randomly, the wall (with a height exceeding 40m) was given a strong rhythm, harmonizing with the townscape of Yufuin.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-06-876x585.jpg)
The two facing exhibition rooms seem to observe each other over a shallow pool which extends from the exterior.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-07-876x648.jpg)
To provide a contrast with the two minimally finished volumes, the lounge on the 2nd floor is wrapped with wood and washi, while the dry landscape connected to it is arranged as a garden for contemplating the noble presence of Yufu-dake (Mount Yufu). Source by Kengo Kuma and associates.
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-08-876x584.jpg)
- Location: Oita, Japan
- Architect: Kengo Kuma and associates
- Area: 602.97 m
- Year: 2017
- Photographs: Mitsumasa Fujitsuka, via Kengo Kuma and associates
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-09-876x584.jpg)
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-10-876x585.jpg)
![Comico Art Museum Yufuin](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/Comico-Art-Museum-Yufuin-by-Kengo-Kuma-and-associates-11-876x584.jpg)