Completion Date: April 2009

Owner: Toraya

Program: A new building for the Japanese pastry maker Toraya, which has occupied the site for approximately 500 years. The structure—housing a café, a gallery, offices, and the pastry workshop—is connected by a central garden to a small storage house from the Edo Period, for a total of 12,000 square feet.

Design concept and solution: The architects wanted the café and garden-side terrace to feel like one big indoor-outdoor space, open and relaxing. They united the café and terrace with a gently sloping ceiling of narrow wood ribs, which extends into an awning over the terrace. In keeping with Kyoto's building regulations, the architects chose traditional materials, such as clay tile for the roof. But their structural system is a hybrid of tradition and tech, combining the delicate wood ribs with reinforced concrete and steel beams. A smaller terrace on the opposite side of the café, shaded by a bamboo screen, adds additional outdoor yardage.

Architect:
Naito Architect & Associates
#301 Matsuoka Kudan Bldg.
2-2-8 Kudan-Minami Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan
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