WhyWhy Zero Waste in Kamikatsu Town?
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- Why Zero Waste in Kamikatsu Town?
Welcome to Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center WHYWelcome to Kamikatsu Town Zero Waste Center WHY
The thoughts that come to WHY
It is about an hour's drive from Tokushima city centre. Kamikatsu Town is a quiet town in the mountains, located on the upper reaches of the Katsuura River, with a population of about 1,400 people. Kamikatsu Town Zero Waste Center WHY opened in May 2020, a facility that stands in harmony with the red colours of the exterior walls in a rich greenery. This building is made by combining fittings and scrap materials given to you by town residents, and when viewed from above, the entire facility is shaped like a question mark (?).
To avoid producing trash
What should I do
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In order to change the mechanism by which waste is released, we would like to be a place where Zero Waste is a place where people stay here can interact, learn about their feelings and wisdom, and rethink our current lives and consciousness. And by taking on the challenge, new projects will begin, and the local community will be revitalized, and they will be passed down to future children. We aim to be a facility that can spread this cycle all over the world.
FLOOR MAP
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Garbage Station
This is the only garbage collection site in the town, and the townspeople themselves bring in their own garbage and divide it into 13 types and 43 separate pieces. The reason why recycling rates exceeding 80% is maintained is that the habit of all people living in Kamikatsu Town, from children to the elderly, cooperate with each other to separate things every day.
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Crackle Shop
A reuse shop where townspeople can bring in things they no longer need and connect them to those who need them next. Anyone can take it home freely if they like it. When you take it home, weigh it and write it down in a notebook so you can experience the importance of circulating things within the region.
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Learning Center & Exchange Hall
A community space that can be used as a lounge for visitors from inside and outside the town. The bookshelf are lined with selected books on the topics of nature and environmental issues, allowing you to freely pick them up. There is also a kids' space where small children can play. It can also be used as a hall for corporate training.
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Laboratory
It can be used as a satellite office that can be used by companies and research institutes that sympathize with Zero Waste's initiative and the philosophy of the circular economy, and as a venue for large groups of seminars and conferences. On the walls are bookshelves with upcycled vegetable baskets.
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HOTEL WHY
A Zero Waste Experience Hotel located within WHY. You can take a staff member's facility guide tour and experience separating the garbage you have taken during your stay. Relax in a room where you can feel the warmth of wood, experience the life of Kamikatsu, and make a comeback by choosing and buying things.
ABOUT ARCHITECTURE Architectural Design: Nakamura Hiroshi & NAP Architectural Design Office
Architectural by Nakamura Hiroshi
The site is land that has been reclaimed with garbage and civil engineering residue. Therefore, the building was set up on the mountain side with good ground, and car entrances were placed to avoid detoured roads with poor visibility.
A reuse shop with an office and concierge function has been set up in the center of the site where you can see the entrance and exit, and on both sides there are separation areas, which are mainly used by town residents and garbage-related personnel, as well as community facilities and parking areas that are visited by people outside the town. In addition, an experiential hotel was placed in a separate building on top of the mountain, where the ground is most stable.
The horseshoe-shaped plan seamlessly continues the cycle and reuse process of "sorting → storage → regeneration and sales", and the circular town resident sorting plaza surrounded by the large eaves is a drive-through-type space with a panoramic view of the stock yard, and has been designed to improve the searchability of 43 sorting and optimize the travel distance. In the afternoon, forklifts and trucks will travel back and forth for recycling and collection, so the outpatient conductors for tourist inspections will be on the outer periphery of the building, taking into consideration the privacy of town residents who separate walking and trash. Beyond the waste disposal line is a reuse shop, a community hall, and an encounter hall that leads to a stunning grassy plaza, where the townspeople and the intended way to create interactions between townspeople and outpatients.
Awards at Kamikatsu Town Zero Waste Center WHY
- 2021 Architectural Institute of Japan Award (work)
- 2021 Japan Architects Association Environmental Architects Award
- Dezeen Awards 2021 sustainable building of the year
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Grand Prize at Hometown Creation Award for 2021 (Prime Minister's Award) (Kamikatsu Town, Tokushima Prefecture)
- KUKAN OF THE YEAR 2022
- Japan Space Design Award Sustainable Space Award 2022
Nakamura Hiroshi
Born in Tokyo in 1974. Spending his childhood in Kamakura and Kanazawa.
Completed the master's course in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Meiji University in 1999. In the same year, he joined Kuma Kengo Architectural Urban Design Office.
He established NAP Architectural Design Office in 2002 and continues to this day.
The company believes in designing it is designed to align with the local climate and industry, the topography and nature of the site, and the behavior and feelings of the people who work there.