hundred-year-old townhouse transfigures into minimal soba restaurant in kyoto

Kawamichiya Kosho-An by Tada Masaharu and Endo Shojiro

Designers Tada Masaharu and Endo Shojiro take over the renovation project of Kawamichiya Kosho-An, turning a 110-year-old townhouse into a soba restaurant. Situated in downtown Kyoto, the refurbished structure serves as a diner preserving several existing architectural elements of the townhouse. The team inserts new geometries during the reconstructive process while respecting the original framework, following a design principle aligned with the ‘Density of Existence’. The project revives several hidden or destroyed components, such as windows and alcoves, as various modifications alter the space. 

a straw artwork floats above ‘Zashiki’ tatami room | all images courtesy of Tada Masaharu and Endo Shojiro

a mix of original building elements and contemporary design

The restoration blends original building parts with new materiality resulting in contemporary architecture that reminisces of the old townhouse. The collaborative team of Tada Masaharu and Endo Shojiro applies a ‘Tokonoma’ display shelf and forms wooden doors and shoji screens that serve as partitions. The layout sets the central kitchen as the heart of the restaurant distributing the rest of the spaces around it. The plan develops several floor elevations with each level connecting visually and spatially with either the street or the garden. 

the kitchen stands in direct access to the entrance garden ‘Genkan-niwa’

the plan develops several levels that connect visually and spatially with either the street or the garden

the refurbished structure serves as a diner preserving existing architectural elements of the townhouse

the restored back building forms around an open garden

the project restores the lattice and other architectural elements of the facade

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dining seats and tables sit on the 'dirt floor', or 'Tori-doma', that is is lowered by two steps

the dining space overlooks to the street through the windows

the restoration blends original building parts with new materiality

the townhouse's condition before reconstruction

axonometric drawing depicting the restorative elements applied to the townhouse

project info:

name: Kawamichiya Kosho-An

architect: Tada Masaharu – td-Atelier + Endo Shojiro Design | @endo_shojiro_design

location: Kyoto, Japan

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom