Portland Japanese Garden

Considered to be one of the most authentic Japanese Gardens outside of the Japan, architect Kengo Kuma completed an expansion of the existing garden which first opened in 1967. The expansion includes the addition of three structures by Kuma, which help to increase capacity and opportunity to showcase Japanese culture.

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The arrangement of the buildings is a response to the Japanese momzenmachi, the gate-front towns which surround traditional shrines and temples. The composition of new buildings emulates japan’s monzenmachi, the gate-front towns that surround sacred shrines and temples.

All three shrines are LEED certified and designed to ensure nature remains at heart of the architectural concept.

Portland commissioned Kengo Kuma for his first public commission in the U.S. to design the new “Cultural Village” within the park to quarter its popularity. Modeled on the Japanese tradition of monzenmachi - or gate towns - he wanted to create a flowing, accessible community that was also capable of hosting everything from events to educational affairs. The complicated cubic and rectilinear volumes feature pitched roofs and façades not achievable with natural materials. By finishing aluminum plate surfaced with silver and white pearl and adding a matte granite layer on top, a sense of substance and materiality was achieved in the proper forms.

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The Cultural Village at Portland Japanese Garden

The city of Portland commissioned the design of a new Cultural Village inside the Portland Japanese Garden. The garden itself, surrounded by mature Douglas firs, appears to be a piece of Japan, transplanted. The Architects modeled their design on the Japanese tradition of monzenmachi, or gate town preceding a sacred precinct, aiming to create a flowing, accessible community capable of hosting a range of activities, from public events to educational affairs.

The Cultural Village consists of three buildings surrounding a courtyard, a group of complex cubic and rectilinear volumes that integrated seamlessly into the surrounding gardens. The use of hipped, double-tiered roofs in these new buildings is a nod to Japanese architectural tradition. The upper levels of the roof are covered with local plants and blend into the landscape, while the lower levels provide shield users from the heavy rains of the Pacific Northwest.

While natural wood forms the soffits, louvers, and exterior walls, the lower roofs of each building were conceived as tapered, thin eaves in a limestone finish. This proposed design posed a construction challenge due to dimensional, weight, and finish concerns, but was resolved and made possible through the use of aluminum panels finished in a custom print to resemble a textured natural material. Pure + FreeForm’s custom finish was printed on 3mm thick aluminum sheets using a customized offset gravure process. The finished aluminum sheets were then formed into the tapered eave panels.

The custom metal roofing at the Cultural Village required limited processing. The material is single skin, non- combustible, with no reportable VOC content, 100% recyclable and contains post-consumer recycled content. Whereas most other metals require additional processing, this product is ready to use. The product has a 60-year lifecycle for exterior applications but can be broken down and recycled in the future, by simply removing and recycling the panel.

A beautiful example of the minimum frame, the Vitrocsa Fixed & Sliding systems with the Invisible Sill option were installed throughout the cultural expansion of the Portland Japanese Garden by Kengo Kuma.

The Vitrocsa Fixed units allows for uniformity throughout the design as the same minimal sightlines are maintained between multiple fixed panels. Meanwhile, the Vitrocsa Vertical Sliding system is customized with high-precision counterweights or alternatively, counterbalanced with another sliding glass panel to maximize views. 

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Vitrocsa Fixed & Sliding w/ the Invisible Sill option were installed throughout the cultural expansion including the Umami Café.

Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon is an oasis of tranquility - and cross-cultural respect and understanding, attracting thousands of visitors each year. It is considered to be one of the most authentic such gardens outside of Japan, and is made up of eight settings, including stepping stones leading to a traditional tea house and a stream and waterfall. In 2017 a cultural village was added to the site, part of the Cultural Crossing project aimed at increasing understanding between Japanese and American culture.

Part of the concept was to use partner brands which embodied the bridging of the gap between America and Japan, and for this GROHE”s parent company LIXIL was a perfect fit. GROHE products were donated for the staff showers at the Garden, with the sleek modern lines of the New Tempesta Cosmopolitan 100 shower head helping wash away the stress of a hard day’s gardening. The shower’s reduced flow rate also ties in to the sustainability of water that must be close to every gardener’s heart.