Yukinohako Storage Space / Kei Kaihoh Architects

This is a wooden snow storage built in a small town called Yasuzuka in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture. The snow storage is a natural refrigerator that utilizes the cold heat of the snow, and this time, rice harvested in the neighborhood will be stored. In addition to the aging of farmers and the lack of successors, farmers in terraced rice paddies in mountainous areas generally have less productivity than farmers on the plain and tend to have lower incomes. The client Joetsu City aims to improve this situation.