BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE KYOTO CAFÉ

a century-old traditional Kyoto wooden townhouse in one of the city’s vibrant neighborhoods (not too far from Nanzenji Temple, the head temple of one of the schools within the Rinzai sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism, and ‘Sosui,’ the western architecture inspired brick aqueduct bridge) into a coffee house that welcomes visitors of modern Kyoto.

The place consists of two wooden buildings. Separated and connected by a ground covered in white pebbles, the two buildings are situated in front and back positions from one another, while the transparent glass wall of the office on the upper floor facilitates a connection between the spaces on the second and the first floors. The architect designed the space with consideration being given to the ground level. Created is a continuity between the interior and exterior with the floor’s material playing an important part. The original wood floor, which was elevated 50 centimeter above the ground, was replaced with terrazzo to maintain visual harmony with the white pebbles on the exterior ground. Terrazzo was also used with parts of the seating and the main counter to maintain a visual flow of the interior space. In the meantime, the height of the ground of the staffs’ working station and other areas that can be accessed by the café’s patrons were adjusted to be at the same level. The traces of time and ancient elements of the earth wall can be found in the front building, following the architect’s intention to preserve the original charm of a Machiya. Some of the traces are disclosed while some are revealed to interact with the new activity while the spirit of the old continues to live on, coexisting in a beautiful contrast with the ‘newness’ of the emerging coffee drinking culture.

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