ARCHITECTURE: Kengo Kuma-Earth | Tree
Kengo Kuma’s approach to materials is a fundamental element of his originality. Born in Yokohama in 1954, Kuma perceives the world as material and studies space thoroughly before beginning any design. He seeks to fully understand the site and to create architecture that is open to the environment and rooted in its history. He believes that materials are inseparably connected with place.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Copenhagen Contemporary Archive
For the first time, the internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and his studio, Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA), are bringing their vision to an art center in Denmark, with a site-specific installation that turns the industrial vastness of Copenhagen Contemporary’s Hall 4 into a poetic, breathing landscape.
Titled “Earth | Tree”, the exhibition marks a significant moment for the Danish institution, inviting visitors to step away from the intellectual abstraction of architecture and into a deeply physical, sensory experience. Rooted in Kuma’s philosophy of “gentle architecture”—a practice defined by dialogue with nature, place, and people—the installation seeks to answer a primal question: what does it feel like to seek shelter beneath a tree?
At the heart of the installation lies the Japanese aesthetic concept of komorebi, which describes the dappled light that filters through the leaves of trees, creating a living interplay of shadow and illumination on the ground. From this starting point, KKAA, led by partner Yuki Ikeguchi, has crafted a monumental, ceiling-suspended veil of handcrafted wooden elements.
Designed specifically for the cavernous space of Hall 4, this wooden canopy allows light to filter downward toward a floor composed of raw stone materials. The result is an immersive environment where visitors are encouraged to move through the space intuitively, feeling the textures and inhaling the scent of the materials. By drawing on the fundamental elements of earth and wood, the installation strips architecture back to its most primal essence: the need for shelter.
The exhibition is not merely a translation of Japanese aesthetics but a deliberate fusion of Japanese and Nordic perspectives on nature. While Kuma’s work is renowned for its sensitive approach to materials like wood and paper, this installation introduces a distinctly Danish element: brick.
Wood and brick serve as the primary materials, exploring the tactile and historical dimensions of materiality. The wood speaks to Japanese timber-building traditions and the Nordic landscape’s affinity for natural fibers, while the brick grounds the installation in a deep cultural narrative familiar to the Danish context. Together, they appear not as inert building supplies, but as “living materials” carrying generations of human craft and storytelling.
In a unique departure from traditional exhibitions, *Earth | Tree* invites guests to step behind the curtain of the creative process. An integral part of the show is a dedicated workshop zone developed specifically for *CCreate*, where visitors are encouraged to experiment with architecture firsthand. Here, guests can shape landscapes in sand and build using various systems, including “Tsumiki”—a building block designed by Kengo Kuma—alongside Danish-produced wooden blocks and miniature bricks. The workshop emphasizes that architecture is not a fixed discipline reserved for experts, but a creative force accessible to everyone, regardless of age or experience.
“Earth | Tree” is more than an exhibition to be viewed; it is a space to be inhabited. Visitors are invited to experience architecture with all their senses: to inhale the scent of wood and earth, to feel the rough grain of timber and the cool weight of brick, and to move through a landscape where architecture is felt bodily and intuitively.
Photo: Kengo Kuma ,Earth | Tree, Installation view Copenhagen Contemporary- Copenhagen, 2026
Info: Copenhagen Contemporary, Refshalevej 173A, Copenhagen, Denmark, Duration: 28/3/2026-21/2/2027, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-21:00, https://copenhagencontemporary.org/
