A Wooden Canopy by Kengo Kuma Casts Dappled Light Around a Copenhagen Museum

All photos by Jacopo La Forgia, courtesy of Copenhagen Contemporary, shared with permission

At Copenhagen Contemporary, Kengo Kuma and his team have honed in on the Japanese concept of komorebi, which reflects the unique interplay of light and shadow that occurs when the sun filters through the trees. The monumental, site-specific installation “Earth / Tree” harnesses this fleeting condition through a suspended canopy of wooden slats.

Curved with a central opening, the diaphonous structure floats above a brick platform and a pile of rubble. These two organic materials bridge Nordic and Japanese cultures, which both value craftsmanship and continuity with the landscape.

Kuma—who was recently awarded the bid to design the new National Gallery in London—often focuses on “soft architecture,” a mode of working entwined with the environment and people who engage with the space. “Earth / Tree” translates this concept into the Danish museum, where it’s on view through February 21, 2027.