Kyoto. Schemata designs a café in a traditional Japanese townhouse

Jo Nagasaka from Schemata Architects designed a new Blue Bottle Cofee in Kyoto, Japan. The building integrates the machiya traditional townhouse – located along the way to the Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto –  and a typical American café. The existing floor, raised 50 cm above the ground, was demolished to make a new floor at ground level. To keep the continuation between interior and exterior, the architects used the same pebbles for the flooring in both environments. In the interiors, the pebbles are transformed into a terrazzo that not only serves as a floor finish but it also transforms into integrated furniture, giving shape to counters and benches. 

The roof has been cleaned from finishes that had overlaid in time, to expose the original roof structure and clay walls: one can see traces of its100-year old history. The machiya was originally composed of two buildings, which were renovated into the cafe and office space. The second floor accommodates the office, where all unnecessary walls have been removed and glass maintains the visual connection between the lower and upper floors.