CCreate: Kengo Kuma/KKAA Earth | Tree

Press release

With the exhibition Earth | Tree, CC opens the next chapter of the CCreate exhibition series with a site-specific, architectural installation by the internationally renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (b. 1954). Kuma is known for his sensory approach to materials and works from a philosophy of “gentle architecture”—architecture that emerges in dialogue with nature, the site, and people.

The Earth | Tree installation is based on the fundamental elements of earth and wood, and on the most basic act of architecture: seeking shelter under a tree. The work invites the audience into a poetic and enveloping space, where light, shadow, materials, and the body merge into a sensory whole—drawing inspiration from the Japanese concept of komorebi. This term refers to sunlight filtering through leaves, creating captivating patterns and reminding us of nature’s fleeting moments, filled with both poetry and magic.

For Hall 4, Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA), led by Yuki Ikeguchi, have created an architectural structure that unites Japanese and Nordic perspectives on nature. Using wood and brick as primary materials, the installation explores the tactile and historical dimensions of these elements. Here, wood and earth are not merely building blocks but living materials carrying deep cultural and human narratives.

Earth | Tree is an invitation to experience architecture with all the senses: to inhale the scent of wood and earth, to feel the textures of surfaces, and to move through a space where architecture is experienced as something physical and intuitive. Through participation and immersion, the exhibition aims to raise awareness that we are all potential creators and co-shapers of our surroundings.

As an integral part of CCreate, visitors are invited to a workshop zone within the exhibition, where they can engage with architecture and materials. Participants can shape landscapes in sand and experiment with different building blocks: Tsumiki, a special block designed by Kengo Kuma; Aki Blocks, a newly produced Danish wooden play block; and miniature bricks. The workshop offers the chance to explore the architect’s creative methods of building and invention—a hands-on experience emphasizing that architecture is something to create, play with, and actively explore.

The exhibition Earth | Tree is the second installment of CC’s educational format CCreate, which focuses on creativity and creative processes. Each year, an artist from a different aesthetic field transforms the hall into a creative universe. Historically, the hall has functioned as a painter’s studio for the Royal Theatre’s scenic painters, and through CCreate, it is revived as a spectacular atelier space. In this edition, the public can come together around learning and play, inspired by Kengo Kuma/ KKAA’s architecture and artistic processes. The CCreate project is founded on a vision of strengthening creative self-confidence in both children and adults.

The installation opens in the same year as the Water Culture House on Papirøen – also designed by KKAA – offering a unique opportunity to experience the studio’s architectural vision across multiple contexts in 2026.