Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

KAWAMICHIYA KOSHO-AN RESTAURANT

Td-Atelier + Endo Shojiro Design

CEILING ART
Hanase WARA, Fujii Momoko

CLIENTS
Kawamishiya Kosho-An

MANUFACTURERS
DN Lighting, Hoshizaki, Lixil, Maruzen, Mizunohana, Rinnai, Yamada Ironwork

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Tada Masaharu, Endo Shojiro

CONSTRUCTION
Fuzisaki Gumi Company Limited

LANDSCAPE
Michikusa, Ogasahara

2F LIGHTING COORDINATION
Kyo-Hatgo Mugen

PHOTOGRAPHS
Matsumura Kohei

AREA
143 m²

YEAR
2023

LOCATION 
Kyoto, Japan

CATEGORY 
Restaurant, Renovation

Text description provided by the architects.

“KAWAMICHIYA" is a soba restaurant in Kyoto with a history of over 300 years. This is the new store of "KAWAMICHIYA KOHSHO-AN", which is "KAWAMICHIYA"'s become a goodwill partner. We renovated a 110-year-old townhouse in downtown Kyoto.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

Originally it looked like a townhouse with an elaborate design, but various modifications were made for living, and those designs were hidden or destroyed.

Therefore, we tried to restore the elements of the townhouse, such as hidden or lost design windows and alcoves and add new geometry to them to revive them as a new store.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

We believe that the elements of the townhouse have a kind of "Density of Existence". We considered the gradation of the "Density of Existence" and considered what kind of new building parts should be blended there.

As a result, various materials were adopted as new building members. In the new architecture, the traditional townhouse materials have lost their original meanings and functions and are revived as new designs.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

The TOKONOMA is a display shelf, and the wooden doors and shoji screens are not fittings but serve as walls and screens.

We laid out the kitchen in the center of the building. Visitors will experience various sequences before reaching each seat. In addition, by setting the floor height to 100 to 300 mm, it is possible to take off shoes to enter the room, sit on a chair, and sit on the floor without feeling unnatural.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

We control the line of sight to the audience, the garden, and the street by the height of each floor. As a result, it is an original townhouse element that is both old and new and a new design that fuses old and new. It has become an architecture with such ambiguity.

Soba has been eaten in Japan since ancient times. It is said that it was a fast food that people could easily eat, and it was also a luxury item that was presented to the Shogun and Lords. Following the history of soba, we designed a restaurant.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei

It's like a regular dinner, and it's also a gorgeous restaurant. I want as many people as possible to enjoy it.

Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei


Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei
Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
© Matsumura Kohei


Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
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Kawamichiya Kosho-An Restaurant
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