In Tokyo, miraculously stands a century-old traditional Japanese house that has survived the Kanto Earthquake, World War II destruction, and urban development threats. This copper-plated building used to house “Izutsuya," a sweets shop, located.
For approximately three years, after the owner moved to a nearby high-rise apartment, Izutsuya remained vacant, surrounded by tall buildings, gradually losing its vitality and showing signs of aging. Upon seeing graffiti on its exterior, I decided to initiate a revitalization project.
The vicinity of this place was an area where is a unique blend of Japanese and Western cultures and a rich historical background.
The roof of this building features a gambrel roof, a shape that originated in the United Kingdom and was carried to the United States. It is a form not typically found in Japan but was combined with copper plating on the exterior as a lesson learned from great fires in a history. Inside, tatami mats were laid, and there were tokonoma alcoves. This mixture of various architectural styles is exceedingly rare when compared to buildings around the world.
Regrettably, structures like these are often easily demolished, transforming into apartments or office buildings. As architectural designers by profession, we saw the value of this building shimmer like a diamond. Would we allow graffiti and similar actions? To preserve it for the next 100 years, we decided to bring it back to life.
Total Floor Area : 76 square meters
Scale : 3-story wooden building
Age : 100 years old
Usage: design studio/gallery
1st Floor : gallery space + Bar space (two seats) + Toilet
2nd Floor : Staff area + Meeting space
3rd Floor : gallery space
Credit:
Photo by Ikunori Yamamoto
video by touq Inc.
