Building the Contemporary Heritage: The Kumamoto Artpolis Project

Abstract

Almost thirty years ago, in Japan´s Kumamoto Prefecture, emerge a government project that mixes the ancient with the contemporary and it was given the name of Kumamoto Artpolis Project (KAP). In the KAP precepts it is mentioned “new buildings stand up in the stretch alleys of the towns historical site” weaving the relationship between ancient urbanism and the new constructions as an inseparable spatial solution. It`s not only pretended to transform the whole Prefecture in an outdoor “Museum of Contemporary Architecture” through the urban-architectural and landscape transformation of the location but also achieve society perceive it´s millenary culture through contemporaneity and experience, in a day to day basis in those new spaces. This is certainly an approach to the creation of a Contemporary Architectural Heritage that, under wellstructured plans, will surely achieve its objectives.