This is a project to build a new factory for Asahi Shuzo, the brewer of the famous “Dassai” brand that has its head office in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, as its location for expanding overseas. The project was planned in response to an approach about expansion by the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the world-leading U.S. specialist culinary school, and is located in Hyde Park, New York, near the CIA in anticipation of collaborations between cuisine and sake. It consists of the main building, which adapted an existing building that had been used as a supermarket for a new adaptive reuse as the factory, and the newly constructed rice milling building and wastewater treatment building, and the landscape as a whole was also developed.
Because the site is located in the Hudson River basin and is under extremely strict scenery controls, we paid great attention to maintaining harmony with the historic atmosphere of the surrounding streetscape, but partly because the client was a Japanese brewer who mainly makes sake, we also incorporated “Japanese-ness” into the design.
The main building has a porch space with long eaves that links with canopy-style roof design, which serves to accent the exterior. We have created a Japanese-style porch design that not only continues the interior space for tasting drinks, etc. and the landscape as an intermediate area, but also gently welcomes visiting guests.
We have provided several places where people can enjoy the changes in nature with the seasons while savoring sake, such as the landscape with flower-viewing spaces to appreciate the cherry blossoms and the interior space where people can interact through tastings and tours of the production area.
We hope that this facility will become part of the broadcast of Japanese culture into other countries and will grow up together with the local American culture.