Hiroshi Sambuichi's Subterranean Installation at The Cisterns.

Located under Frederiksberg Hill, in the heart of Søndermarken Park, are The Cisterns, a subterranean reservoir that once supplied drinking water for all of Copenhagen. The murky and eerily still space is currently the backdrop of Hiroshi Sambuichi’s ambitious installation, The Water, conceived as “a journey through an underground sea of light and darkness.” The installation explores the return of natural elements to the site and has been hauntingly documented by Danish photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj.

Dark, moving and powerful, The Water is Sambuichi’s first major exhibition outside of Japan. “It was an almost magical encounter when we invited Sambuichi to see The Cisterns in 2015,” says Director Astrid la Cour of The Frederiksberg Museums. “The various characteristics of The Cisterns that could be considered problematic – the constant flow of water, the extremely high humidity level, the 17 seconds of echo and the absence of daylight – were to Sambuichi the best possible starting point for a project. He immediately understood the unique character of the place.”

Sambuichi intervention uses earth as a natural building material in an effort to unfold the character and hidden qualities of the space. “Instead of creating a physical boundary between nature and architecture, he creates a symbiosis.” Natural daylight finds its way into the space and plants grow in a climate dictated by high levels of carbon dioxide. When crossing the underground bodies of water, visitors walk past glass interpretations of the Japanese Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Miyajima.

Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi is considered one of the leading experimentalists of sustainable architecture and his design philosophy balances science and poetics. Sambuichi is an Honorary Professor at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture and this exhibition is part of this year’s official celebration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Japan.

The achingly beautiful and sombre exhibition ‘The Water’ is open until 2 February 2018 and is not to be missed if you find yourself in the fine city of Copenhagen.