Page 87 - AIT0623_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Coil Kazuteru Matsumura, JP-Osaka
„Kyoto Wand soll ein sanfter und
freier Ort für alle sein, die sich hier treffen,
ob sie kommen oder gehen.“
Kazuteru Matsumura
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan
Bauherr • Client Kanade New Frontier Development
Standort • Location Higashiyama-ku, JP-Kyoto
Nutzfläche • Floor space 105 m 2
Fotos • Photos Yoshiro Masuda, JP-Osaka
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 142
RESTAURANT KYOTO
WAND IN KYOTO
In the Japanese language, a wand is a bay that lies on the
bank of a tributary. A quiet island in the passing stream.
A symbol of a place where people are welcome to ar-
rive, linger and leave again after a restorative break. For
the architect Kazuteru Matsumura, this was an inspiring
image which he cleverly transferred to the premises of
the daytime restaurant Kyoto Wand in Kyoto.
N ot far from Kiyomizu Gojo Station in Kyoto stands the Kyoto Wand.
On the outskirts of the former Japanese capital, travellers will find
the eatery inside of a traditional Japanese townhouse – a machiya. A
perfect destination for day trippers since the city, which has been on
the list of the UNESCO cultural heritage sites already since 1994, has se-
veral attractions to offer. Besides Buddhist temples, gardens, palaces
and traditional wooden houses, the proximity to nature invites visitors
to go hiking along one of the many trails in the surrounding area. The
Kyoto Wand wants to be a starting point for these day visitors, as it of-
fers culinary catering as well as shower rooms and lockers. After a plea-
sant hike, visitors can thus take a short trip into town. And something
else underlines the unusual concept: visitors are charged according to
the time they spend in the café. When the owners of Kyoto Wand ap-
proached architect Kazuteru Matsumura, the original structure of the
townhouse was hardly recognizable after the various ways in which it
had been used in the course of time. With a fundamental renovation,
the building was to be brought technically up to date and, at the same
time, it was to create a balance between history and the present. With
a great deal of sensitivity, the façade was given a new face and it now
picks up connections to the neighbouring buildings, whereas the inte-
rior was dismantled down to its basic structures. The newly embedded
structure corresponds to the new use. The absolute centrepiece is the
sales counter. The artist Yuko Yamamoto gave the wooden panels an in-
digo colouring in different shades that fit together to form a mosaic. To-
gether with the counter, whose unusual iridescent surface is made of
the traditional Japanese washi paper, and the back wall constructed of
coated chrome steel sheet, the result is an exciting collage that succeeds
in reflecting the element of water in all its numerous facets. A massive
chestnut trunk that has been placed along the floor-to-ceiling window
front becomes a long bench. With the windows open, visitors can sit fa-
cing the terrace. A meeting place, similar to a bay on the river, where
the people of the city pass by and pause before they are moving on.
AIT 6.2023 • 087