Located in the old city center of Kyoto, the building is the company’s main office and showroom serving as a hub for promoting the culture of textile and kimono. In order to create an interior space that functions as a “salon” for the guests where they can communicate intimately in peace, the architecture is enclosed in low, rammed-earth walls and a sumi-ink plastered exterior wall.

Although the architecture’s interior is concealed from the surroundings, the building invites in passers-by on the street with the line of vision that suddenly opens up along the low wall and the gold-leafed wall joints flowing toward the inside. Situated within a city block that is expected to have a traditional cityscape, the idea of inheriting the history is expressed through the texture of the materials that have long been used in Kyoto, such as sumi-ink plaster, gold leaf, and a rammed earth wall.

From a distance, the exterior of the architecture appears reticent but, when seen from a closer viewpoint, its loquacious character begins to surface through the delicate details and the materials’ texture and touch, creating distinct impressions when seen in a “long shot” and from “close-up.”

Associational Architecture