DESCRIPTION

This project renovates an existing Kyoto machiya, transforming a traditional wooden townhouse into a contemporary living space while preserving its structural and cultural essence. The design focuses on revealing the original timber framework—columns, beams, and rafters—as the primary spatial language, allowing the structure itself to define rhythm and proportion.

To overcome the typical darkness and compartmentalization of historic machiya, the renovation introduces openness, vertical connections, and controlled transparency. Double-height voids, high windows, and translucent surfaces reorganize natural light, creating a bright and fluid interior without disrupting the traditional frame.

Modern programmatic needs—an open living-dining-kitchen area, improved circulation, and a more flexible second floor—are integrated into the historic structure through simple materials, muted tones, and lightweight partitions. Glass balustrades and minimal detailing enhance the sense of continuity, while new elements coexist respectfully with the original framework.

The resulting architecture is neither a reproduction of the past nor a purely contemporary insertion. Instead, it is a balanced coexistence:
a renewed machiya that retains its wooden skeleton while embracing the openness, clarity, and usability required for modern life.

DRAWINGS