R1

This is a café-bar project located southwest of central Kyoto. The space is designed as a container for the owner's carefully curated passions—manga, novels, darts, films, and even apparel—scattered throughout the interior.

Situated on the ground floor of a multi-unit housing complex along Nishi-Oji Street, the expansive site required a construction approach that balanced a limited budget with feasibility.

To make the project possible, the owner actively participated in the construction process. With a restrained material palette, the design minimized structural interventions while making use of existing electrical and plumbing systems as much as possible.

The primary material was low-cost transport pallets, commonly used in the logistics industry, repurposed to shape walls, counters, and furniture.

Site: Kyoto, Japan

Use: café-bar

Year: 2011

associate: lunch! architects