Omishima Island, along with many of Japan’s rural islands suffer from population decline leading to a significant decrease in economic opportunities and community activity. As a result, recent local effort has began to cultivate new agricultural products across the island, such as wine vineyards. In order to calibrate the local economy, Minna-no-Winery functions as both a wine distillery and kitchen for the community. It adopts an annual schedule including grape harvesting, wine making and seasonal cooking. The Shared Kitchen brings together locals and visitors to interact and share the island’s craft of cultivating, farming and cooking, anticipating the exchange to continue into the next generations to come.
The design challenge is to provide a low-budget project that can grow/expand overtime, due to the unpredictable nature of winemaking business. Pergola structures, the basic building unit signifies the adaptable nature of the structural system and potential for growth. Loose layering of the structure are composed to highlight different functions and flexibility of the spaces, as well as integrate with the surrounding natural topography.
