Kamikatsu, Japan

 “Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center embodies the principle of Zero Waste as an earth-friendly complex facility that adds the functions of education, research and communication to a waste-sorting treatment plant, aiming to recreate community and develop the region,” states Hiroshi Nakamura of Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects.

 Hiroshi Nakamura and his team at Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects have designed a new recycling center in Kamikatsu, Japan built from waste materials including around 700 windows donated by the local community incorporated into buildings’ façades—the first place in Japan to pass a zero-waste declaration.

The environmentally friendly zero waste center is the ultimate community project.

In 2003, Kamikatsu was the first in Japan to issue a “Zero Waste Declaration” and was selected in 2018 as one of the “SDGs Future Cities.”

The new facility encapsulates the community’s values as pioneers of waste processing, which means that all waste produced by its inhabitants is recycled or reused rather than being sent to landfills or for incineration.

The goal was to create a seamless architecture that would not look out of place even if the garbage was lined up next to each other.

 Located an hour’s drive from the nearest city, Tokushima, the community gradually developed a system that sees waste separated into 45 categories, with a recycling rate that surpasses 80 percent.

The site is a landfill of wastes and surplus soil from construction sites. 

The architects decided to construct the building on the mountainside where the ground is solid and place the car entrance/exit away from the winding roadway that had poor visibility 

 The reuse shop with a concierge function and office was placed in the center of the site with a view of the entrance/exit, flanked by the separation area mainly used by town residents and waste workers, and a community facility and parking space area that out-of-town visitors would also use. 

The recycling center provides a community focal point for recycling activities that allows those involved to share their ideas and values with visitors through the inclusion of a community hall, reuse shop, activity space, and hotel.

Nakamura’s design is a horseshoe-shaped structure with an extended section at one end that flanks a car par that creating a drive-through space providing easy access to a stockyard sheltered beneath a metal-covered roof.

 The horseshoe-shaped plan seamlessly linked the recycle and reuse process of the separate – store – recycle/sell, while the round Townspeople Sorting Plaza.

Forklifts and trucks would come and go in the afternoon to collect recyclables, so the tourist and observing visitor traffic area was placed in the periphery of the building. 

This also served to separate pedestrians from cars and protect the privacy of town residents who came to dispose of wastes. 

Beyond the waste disposal path lies the reuse shop, community hall, and encounter hall that leads to the grass field with stunning views, with the intention of encouraging interaction between townspeople as well as with town visitors.

When viewed from above, the circular building, which houses a four-room experience-style hotel forms the dot of a question mark. 

The question ‘Why?’ was printed onto newspapers that incite consumption, which was then used as wallpaper inside the building.

“The ‘?’ mark can be perceived only from high up in the sky,” Nakamura pointed out, “but we instill our hope that this town questions our lifestyles anew on a global scale and that out-of-town visitors will start to question aspects of their lifestyles after returning home.”

Project: Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center
Architects: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects
Structural Engineers: Yamada Noriaki Structural Design Office
Client: City of Kamikatsu
Photographers: Koji Fujii/Toreal