bar esperanza

This is a project for a new bar on the ground floor of a 50-year-old, three-story reinforced concrete building in Gojo Nishi-no-Toin, Kyoto.

In an authentic bar, the moment one sits down and tilts a glass should create a psychological distance from the outside world, leaving behind the burdens of daily life. Hogiven the constraints of a narrow site and a severely limited budget, the design was distilled into three essential elements: the counter, wever, the shelves, and the façade—each carefully considered to shape the ideal relationship between interior and exterior.

For the counter and shelves, the approach was straightforward: constructing them entirely from a single type of wood to complement the exposed concrete of the existing structure. This allowed for a carpenter-driven construction process, efficiently utilizing leftover materials to address cost constraints.

The façade, serving as the threshold between interior and exterior, was clad in copper. Unlike the counter and shelves, which are frequently touched in daily use, the façade remains an element that one rarely comes into contact with. Instead of selecting it for purely rational reasons, we imbued it with a touch of romanticism and quiet reverence.

Copper has long been used in Japan for temple and castle architecture, its surface gradually transforming over time into a patina of green. While modern materials have largely replaced it, making it less visible in contemporary architecture, it remains ever-present in daily life through coins—familiar yet unnoticed, existing at the threshold between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Thus, the façade was conceived as a liminal element, one that quietly traverses between everyday life and the realm beyond. Like whisky aging in a barrel, its surface will deepen over time, shifting gradually to a verdant patina. And in that slow transformation, we leave a quiet wish—for time to flow gently, deepening with each passing moment.

Site: Kyoto, Japan

Use: bar

Year: 2016