This was an interior design completed after the design for Abeno Harukas shop and Sogo Kobe by Yagyug Douguten. It is located in the underground shopping center of Kyoto Station, “Kotochika Kyoto” where many tourists come to visit, not to mention many visitors from foreign countries in recent years. For this shop, a seating area was also provided so that freshly baked cheese tarts can be enjoyed with Japanese tea unique to Kyoto.
The aroma and astringency of the tea pairs well with the sweet cheese tart. It creates a round and rich flavor melting together inside the mouth. The sense of different things gently blending was expressed in the space.
Kamado is a traditional cook stove found in old townhouses of Kyoto. It is rare to see a kamado nowadays, but the round form created by plaster work and the stokeholes lined up brings a sense of nostalgia towards Japan’s food culture and comfort of a kitchen. The design of the counter was conceived from such stove. The counter is stretched and bent in a meandering manner, to consolidate all of the functions of display, payment area, wash basin and teapot stove in this area. The counter is located in the center of the shop, and the base curves as if to melt into the earthen floor. The aim was for this giant kamado to envelope the people who gather around this round counter. I gave this counter the name “kamado monster.”
In front of the train station where visitors begin or end their journey to Kyoto, it would be a great pleasure to see people from all over the world would gather around the “kamado monster” to enjoy an uplifting feeling or a relaxing time like a time spent with a large family or in a lively kitchen during festivities.
Beyond mere Japanese/Kyoto style, the space was designed to convey the story behind the product and the place through a new interpretation of unspoilt Japanese scenery.
Client / BAKE Inc.
Direction / Seiji Sadakiyo (BAKE Inc.) Ryotaro Katsube (BAKE Inc.)
Interior design / Fumitaka Suzuki (Yagyug Douguten)
Lighting design / Natsumi Fujii (ModuleX Inc.)
Construction / Daichi Saito (Aim Create co., ltd.)
Kitchen equipment / Aria co.ltd.
Photo / Yoshiro Masuda
Photo copy right / BAKE Inc.
