Just as gene splicing raises controversies in the field of biology, experiments in recombinant architecture pose both practical and philosophical dilemmas. In reconfiguring a hundred-year-old onsen (hot spring hotel) in Japan’s snow country, architect Kengo Kuma raises such issues, grafting modern elements onto historic roots and giving traditional design strategies contemporary interpretations. While strict preservationists may argue with his hybrid approach to history and construction, Kuma fuses eras in a manner that is simultaneously radical and subtle.

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