House Tenjin is located in Tenjinmae-cho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan. Operated by the hotel brand Keiyuugyo, the building was originally a timber machiya townhouse constructed in the early Showa period. In this renovation, we took the spatial typology of the machiya as a guiding framework, clarified the house’s structural logic, and reorganized its spatial composition. Through a restrained architectural language, the project reweaves its functions, spaces, and living experience.
Over its long period of use, the existing building had undergone multiple alterations. The street-facing shop space had absorbed the original earthen passageway, or tori-niwa; the double-height hibukuro space above it, once used to bring daylight into the house, had been divided by the later addition of floor slabs; and several fragmented service spaces had been added to the rear courtyard. As a result, the original typological order of the machiya had been repeatedly overwritten, forming a layered and hybrid condition.
Rather than restoring the house to a fixed historical image, we sought to weave new spaces and new modes of use within its existing logical framework. The design unfolds through two clues: the timber structural frame formed by beams and columns, and the spatial order that gradually progresses from the street toward the interior. By removing existing non-structural partitions, the new functions were reorganized and inserted into the old framework.
A central focus of the design was the reconstruction of the spatial experience around the hibukuro. In a traditional machiya, the hibukuro is located above the tori-niwa: a double-height space that brings in light through a skylight and supports ventilation. Although the original hibukuro in this project had been damaged through successive renovations, we worked with the light that continued to fall from above. Through the composition of new walls, existing timber columns and beams, and built-in furniture, the once direct path of light is redirected and modulated, creating a richer sense of spatial depth.
At the same time, the team carried out a fundamental restoration of the house’s habitability. With the support of a local construction team, the building’s structural performance, thermal performance, and everyday usability were improved through the partial replacement and reinforcement of timber members, adjustments to secondary structures, the hardening and casting of the ground floor, added insulation, and upgraded window systems. These technical interventions, though largely concealed beneath the surface, are essential to extending the life of the old house.
For us, the renovation of House Tenjin is not only an act of preserving memories of the past, but also an attempt to reactivate them within contemporary life.
