Yano Aoyama tops Tobe Zoo toilet with sweeping cedar canopy in Japan

Japanese studio Yano Aoyama Architecture Design has completed a public toilet at Tobe Zoological Park in Ehime Prefecture, featuring two chiseled concrete blocks topped with a thin roof of naturally curved local cedar. The 12-metre-long cross-laminated timber (CLT) canopy was allowed to deflect under its own weight, turning a typical defect into the central architectural gesture. Supported by skinny steel columns, the roof echoes the zoo's arched entrance gates and the Seto Ohashi Bridge. The two-by-two-metre cubic volumes replace outdated facilities with accessible toilets and baby-changing equipment. Inside, exposed concrete and large roof openings provide daylight and ventilation. A curving gutter and rain chains guide water to a small garden. The project treats CLT not as a neutral industrial board but as a material whose natural behavior shapes the design. Photography by Nishikawa Masao.