ナカガワのナカガワ｜Nakagawa’s Nakagawa

下高井戸にある北海道中川町のアンテナショップ

中川町の森を歩く中で、「キツツキが虫を捕食するために開けられた穴が森の生態系において欠かせない」という話を聞いた。個体数が少ないながらも生態系へ大きな影響を与えるキーストーン種の振る舞いが、森の様々な動植物に連鎖していく現象。その現象のように、中川町のアンテナショップも、いわゆるお店っぽいものではなく、小さいながらも下高井戸の日常の中に溶け込んでいける場になれないか考えた。下高井戸も見た目は違えど、森の生態系のように様々な異なる建物や年齢層、人々が混じり合っている。町の看板や中川の魅力を伝える商品、工芸品を引き受ける屏風のような建具が、中川が下高井戸へ手紙をしたためるような対話の媒体となることを願っている。

A small regional outpost (antenna shop) for Nakagawa Town, Hokkaido, presenting local products and crafts.

While walking through the forests of Nakagawa Town, we heard that the holes woodpeckers open in order to feed on insects are indispensable to the forest ecosystem.

Although small in number, the behavior of keystone species with a large impact on the ecosystem spreads through chains of interaction among many plants and animals in the forest.

In a similar way, we began to consider whether the regional outpost for Nakagawa Town could become something other than a shop-like place. We wondered whether, despite its small scale, it could blend into the everyday life of Shimotakaido.

Although different in appearance, Shimotakaido, like a forest ecosystem, is a place where many different buildings, generations, and people intermingle.

We hope that the folding-screen-like fixtures that hold the town’s signage, products that convey the appeal of Nakagawa, and local crafts can become a medium of dialogue, as if Nakagawa were writing a letter to Shimotakaido.