KODAMA: A Polyhedron Sculpture in the Forest at Arte Sella

KODAMA is the new “sculpture” conceived by Kengo Kuma for Arte Sella—The Contemporary Mountain. The process shows the concept, the development, and the construction of a complex structure in massive wood (Italian larch), a new sculpture in this famous Land art park. After the first options, which have been discussed between the Japanese and the Italian teams, a solution with lattice blades has been chosen. The first phase was to produce different scale mockups, both analogic and digital in order to find proportion and dimensions. All the structure which creates a kind of “porous sphere” (a polyhedron) is made only by one wood section, connected without nails or screws. Old toys, Chidori-like, are the reference and several scaled mockups have been produced with different woods: cedar, larch, fir, and oak. Once assessed the architectural/spatial shape the model has been studied for its structural behaviour thanks to complex software analysis, which have been studied using the parametric model (Rhino-Grasshopper). Models have been used for testing the structure after assessing the real loads (mainly snow and wind). Full scale 1:1 mockup have been realized both analogic and with CNC machines by master carpenters. The final shape is an ideal “Teahouse” space in the middle of the forest, close to Villa Strobele, which will be the new core of Arte Sella, dedicated to famous architects and their ways to conceive art and nature using wood as a creative material.