Promotion: Yoshino cedar trees have been transformed into furniture and architecture across Tokyo's mixed-use development Ginza Six as part of a three-year art project.

Named A Tree, the project is an ongoing collaboration between Ginza Six and design firm Daikei Mills.

By utilising timber from felled cedar trees sourced from the Yoshino Mountains to create seating and structures, the project shows how natural resources can be used for a transformative artistic purpose.

A Tree intends to educate on what a single felled tree can be used for, whilst creating a cultural community project that spotlights the "essence and process" of craftsmanship.

Ginza Six is a large mixed-use development in the Tokyo Ginza area combining retail, restaurants, cafes, lifestyle shops and public spaces.

Through the project, the building is described by the organisers as a "cultural platform", where design interventions are integrated into circulation areas rather than displayed in a conventional gallery or museum setting.

Here, the project is organised as a continuous process rather than a fixed exhibition.

It began with the felling and milling of several trees, followed by the production of furniture and, later, the construction of small structures using the same material.

The wood was sourced from the Yoshino Mountains in Nara, a region known for its 500-year-old forestry system, where cedar has been cultivated through dense planting and thinning techniques since the Muromachi period.

This method produces straight, fine-grained timber, which has historically been used in Japanese architecture, shrines and everyday objects.

The project brings together stages of production that are usually separated, from harvesting and processing to design and use.

In the first phase, created by Daikei Mills, chairs and benches were made from minimally processed, near-raw wood, retaining the natural curvature, grain, texture and irregularities of the original cedar logs.

In the subsequent phase, the project evolved into furniture designed by six internationally renowned designers in collaboration with the design label E&Y, each drawing inspiration from their personal experience in the forests of Yoshino.

The designers included Faye Toogood, Max Lamb, Fabien Cappello, Rio Kobayashi, Kuo Duo, and Siin Siin.

Each designer worked with an individual tree, producing a range of outcomes that reflected different approaches to material, form and use.

The last phase will see these initial designs developed into larger structures, including frameworks that will host events, exhibitions and other programmes within the building.

Rather than being confined to a single exhibition space, the project is distributed across multiple floors of the complex, embedding the installations within everyday interactions through the building.

Throughout the project, visitors can sit on the furniture and engage with the structures as they are introduced over time.

A Tree will unfold in phases until 2028, with new pieces introduced as more of the timber is used.

To learn more about the project, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written for Ginza Six as part of a partnership. Find out more about our partnership content here.