Kengo Kuma’s Carbon Fiber Curtain Makes Buildings Earthquake-Proof

Earthquakes? No longer a problem for Japanese fabric manufacturer Komatsu Seiren, whose showroom facility in Nomi, Japan, has been fitted with a carbon-fiber curtain designed by the architect Kengo Kuma. This innovative reinforcement provides added stability to the building, protecting it from damage wrought by earthquakes.

“The fiber rod is said to be seven times stronger than iron, and this is the very first time that this material was used as a means of reinforcement against earthquakes,” explained a representative from Kuma’s studio.

Kuma drew on rope-making techniques to make the carbon fibers more flexible and shock absorbent — very fitting for a building owned by a textile company. The ropes are pulled tightly over the top of the building’s green roof and angled down around the building’s perimeter. Visitors must first pass through gaps in the fiber curtain before entering the building. When they do so, they are greeted by an interior that is also draped in a white curtain, though this one is made of fabric.

In this building, nicknamed Fa-Bo, innovation doesn’t stop at the fiber curtain. The garden roof is fitted with specially designed porous fabric called greenbiz. This product can absorb moisture and regulate soil temperature.

Although carbon fiber is best known for its use in furniture design, it is showing up more frequently in architecture and infrastructure. In Sweden, Erik Andersson Architects is planning to use the material for a circular footbridge in a Gothenburg park.

All images courtesy of Takumi Ota