Sou Fujimoto’s design for a temporary hall for Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka, Japan is so spectacular, it risks outshining the original shrine. Covered with a tilting roof that supports a small “forest,” the temporary building will welcome visitors while the main shrine undergoes a major renovation for the first time in 124 years. Dazaifu Tenmagu Shrine is built over a the burial site of Heian period (794-1185) scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane, who was later deified asTenjin, the god of learning, culture, art, and sincerity.

The renovation will begin in May 2023 and be completed in 2026 for a 2027 reopening ahead of an important occasion: the 1,125th anniversary of Sugawara no Michizane’s death. Keeping the shrine completely out of commission for a three-year renovation wasn’t an option, since Tenjin is worshipped internationally and Dazaifu Tenmagu draws up to 10 million tourists every year. The renovation will repair the hall’s thatched Japanese cypress bark roof and its lacquered interiors, and make the whole structure more resistant to earthquakes.
Sou Fujimoto’s unconventional nature-oriented approach to architecture has produced some incredibly unique projects in the past. For his “Flowing Cloud” resort complex in China, the architect created a terraced plan cascading down a hillside, partially covered by a ceiling made of woven grasses. In Budapest, the Hungarian House of Music revives a 300-acre city...