Site
Location:Kyoto
Land area:

Building
Use: Facade of a bookstore
Structure: 
Floor Area: 

Set the extract of Kyoto feeling into the traditional but modern city As anyone knows Kyoto is a one of the most traditional City in Japan. But recently (in this 50 years) some various modern architecture have occupied along the streets. So the city scape of some commercial area in this traditional city was changed into kind of muddled scenery. Even if some old objects which seem Kyoto space in the city.

The client has two buildings in the neighborhood of the downtown of Kyoto. One is a housing with retail shop we designed more than ten years before. Another one is a commercial building facing to the main street in Kyoto, Shijo-stree, completed 40 years ago.

The client asked us to insert something which makes people feel attractive sense through that works. So we created kind of installations which remind people the sceneries which they have seen in Kyoto before. But those are not direct shapes. Those are some extract from phenomenons which create the Kyoto atmosphere. Feeling Kyoto is being immersed into an air which creating Kyoto attitude.

These two project handles other kind of phenomenon but each one makes people impressive with some essence from Kyoto.

We added a metaphor of Kyo-machiya’s traditional façade in the arcade facing to Shijo- street also. One line of steel flat bar is curved with the abstract element of Kyo-machiya facades. Those section depend on kind of common senses of Machiya. The one line sections will continue and be iterated creating one space covered with a meaning. We created small works in Kyoto downtown. Through them I would like people perceive the air of Kyoto again. Experience is important, it is perception of some phenomenon caused from minimum materials. The simpler the essential materials are, the more impressive the perception is. We perceive this, in the downtown.