Cellar Garden
With the countless number of unused and forgotten building foundations in the urban area, I envisioned the idea of transforming the desolate spaces into artful masterpieces. In this project, one of the building foundations is reborn as a private garden with a collection of "Mirror Water Lilies" which I designed just for this space.

- Out-of-sight spaces under concrete buildings -
My idea of transforming underground spaces applies to the area situated in the lowest part of the basement under a majority of the concrete buildings in Japan. I seldom see the spaces being utilized as cellars and they typically only house water pipes to be accessible for maintenance. Although these spaces are located under urban areas of big cities and not suitable for a long term stay, they are very quiet and can certainly be converted into a place for private use. Furthermore, they are mystically dark and enticing, which allows visitors to feel like they have stepped into another world.

- 450 of my original "Mirror Water Lilies" installed in an underground cellar space -
I solely designed and produced this magnificent 120 square meter private garden in the building’s foundation. The garden consists of 450 of my original and uniquely shaped "Mirror Water Lily" objects arranged beautifully on the floor. Each lily is 200mm in diameter and 200mm in height. I welded a 1mm iron plate to a steel rod, which is 6mm in diameter. I then adhered the round mirror on the fragile-looking base that mimics the long, slim shaft of a lotus to allow movement. There is a wooden passage that is 600mm wide x 250mm in height and 50 meters in overall length that spreads throughout space. As the visitors walk through the garden, they can enjoy seeing the lilies dance from the vibration of their footsteps on the wooden passage. 

- Building foundation reborn as a private garden-
The dense basement ceiling reflects in the mirrors and the reflection gives the visitors an illusional sense of a much deeper space all around the wood passage. It provides a peacefulness where one can meditate and feel like they are in a world no one has ever come into or is even allowed. 

This project titled Cellar Garden gives the buried building foundation a great amount of spatial attractiveness. I would say that it is a very unique spatial design secretly hidden in a busy urban area. Each "Mirror Water Lily" fluidly fluctuates, reflects and vibrates with minimal light and creates a magical and distinctive underground space just like a cave or an underground lake.

 Visitors are mesmerized with the spatial attractiveness only the Cellar Garden can deliver. It is not just another underground space, but a unique and captivating world hidden deep under a concrete building.

Client: CAI-Contemporary Art Institute / CAI03 Function: Private Garden Completion: 2021 Winter Ryo Yamada 2022 / Artist & Architect, Professor of Sapporo City University School of Design