Nikken Space Design has constructed a wedding chapel using 100 large, hand-carved wooden panels in ANA Crowne Hotel, Hiroshima, Japan.

The panels, which are made of half-inch-thick Japanese cypress, feature intricate motifs designed by a kimono designer. The cut out shapes of flowers and plants are traditional patterns that can often be found on Japanese kimonos, and revolve around the themes of “ancestral roots” and “prosperity”.

The panels go up 6 metres and stretch across 19 metres, resulting in a wooden shaped dome of a most impressive scale.

Light filters through the dome’s wooden cutwork, casting shadows on the aisle of the chapel like sunlight through the trees, giving the illusion of a wedding ceremony held within a sun-dappled forest.

Photography: Nacasa & Partners

Nikken Space Design
nspacedesign.co.jp