Three Cubes in the Forest: A Movable Pavilion Redefining Public Spaces

Designers Kotoaki Asano and Makoto Kosuda Create a Multi-Functional, Transportable Art Installation

The Three Cubes in the Forest is not just a design, but a device with various properties and functions. It can serve as playground equipment for children, public furniture, art objects, meditation rooms, arbors, small rest spaces, waiting rooms, and even chairs with roofs. The design's versatility is one of its most unique features, allowing it to adapt to a variety of environments and uses.

The design's inspiration comes from traditional Japanese spaces like tea ceremony rooms, known for their richness, variability, and mobility of minimum spaces. The three cubes are designed to bring people heuristic spatial experiences and fresh spatial experiences. The cubes can be easily transported by a truck and installed due to their size and shape, making them a practical solution for public spaces.

Each cube is designed characteristically in terms of size, installation, seat surfaces, and windows. This differentiation allows for a heuristic spatial experience for many people. The seats and windows are carefully designed in each cube, allowing for long periods of rest and interaction with the surrounding scenery and people.

The design was realized through careful consideration of size and shape. Parts of the cube, whose side measures between 1,800 mm to 2,000 mm, are cut off and placed so that the cut surface is on the ground. This gives each cube a richer complexity than initially imagined. The cubes can be transported by a truck relatively easily and installed, bringing new playful spatiality and public extensity to each location.

The Three Cubes in the Forest project was produced in Takasaki, Japan in the summer of 2015 and displayed at the Kobe Biennale 2015 in the autumn of the same year. It has been in use in Nagano, Japan since 2016. The design won the Silver A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2017, a prestigious accolade rewarding top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.