The project reflects an interest in how architecture connects community and contemporary culture to history and tradition by embedding narratives within the design and allowing them to generate design solutions that provide discovery, connection, and learning opportunities.
Hachi-Play uses octagonal geometry in direct reference to the ‘Nippon Budokan’(Tokyo) upon which the Terasaki Budokan derives its namesake. Designed by architect Mamoru Yamada, the Nippon Budokan has an octagonal plan echoed in the ceiling plan, defined by a series of rotated and stepped octagons.
The use of the octagon in the ‘Nippon Budokan’ was modeled on the octagonal form of Yumendono (Hall of Dreams), one of the most impressive buildings within Horyuji Temple (Nara), as a direct way to embed a lineage of traditional Japanese elements within a more contemporary structure.
Hachi-Play continues the use of an octagonal form as a strategy for the Southern California Nikkei community to pay hommage the ‘Nippon Budokan’, the Yumendono, and, more broadly,the history and legacy of traditional Japanese elements and culture.
