Kyoto-based architecture firm
SUO, founded by architect
Takashi Suo, won the competition to revitalize the Yashima, Japan park area in 2016 with a serpentine pavilion proposal, very much in the tradition of its masters at SANAA, with who have been working for years.
Yashima, located northeast of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, was designated part of the Setonaikai National Park in 1934. It is called Yashima, or "Cover Island," because of its appearance on the plateau. It is formed by a horizontal layer of hard rock, partially surrounded by steep cliffs, and barely separated from the city by the Aibiki River.
With a height of 300 meters above sea level and an extension of about 5 kilometres from north to south and about 2 kilometres from east to west, it is a place widely used by the local population to walk, climb and observe fauna, flora and landscape. The location opened in the 1970s as a tourist destination surrounded by historical sites (the place was the site of a major battle during the Gempei Wars in the 1100s) and scenes from famous Japanese movies.