An Eel’s Space by Diagonally Placed Beams
Located in a commercial district in central Kyoto, this house combines a residence with a studio for a ceramic artist couple. The site measures 4 × 30 meters, stretching eastward from a road along its western edge. Such narrow, deep lots are typical of Kyoto and are known as unagi no nedoko, or “eel beds.” A mid-rise residential and workshop complex stands to the north, a high-rise hotel is under construction to the east, and the parking lot to the south may eventually be replaced by another mid-rise building. With buildings densely surrounding the site, bringing natural light and ventilation deep into the lot was a challenge.
Because the couple produces large ceramic works, they needed as large a studio as possible on the first floor. The challenge was to secure sufficient floor area while also providing natural light and ventilation. The architect turned to the traditional Kyoto townhouse, or machiya. Two characteristic elements were reinterpreted: the narrow earthen-floored passage known as toriniwa, which runs deep into the house, and the small courtyard, or tsuboniwa, at the rear. Rather than reproducing these elements horizontally, the project reorganizes them as vertical spaces.
The resulting void brings natural light to all three floors through glass roofs. In the central void, zigzagging stairs and walkways cross the space, dividing it into distinct areas. Translucent glass walls on both sides of the void bring natural light into the studio and upper floors. On the second floor, stair landings made of fiber-reinforced plastic panels allow light to pass through while reducing noise and heat from the studio below.
The spatial organization also draws on the traditional hierarchy of the machiya, where spaces change in character from the omote, the front section facing the street, to the oku, the deeper interior. Here, the spaces shift from the studio on the first floor to the guest room, study, and office on the second, and the living room, dining room, and bedroom on the third. The exterior refers to the form of the machiya prescribed by Kyoto‘s landscape regulations, adapted in materials and proportions to a three-story residence. Inside, diagonally placed beams introduce a direction distinct from the city’s orthogonal grid, reinterpreting Kyoto‘s traditional urban structure within a contemporary home.
Project: House and Studio in Kyoto / Location: Kyoto, Japan / Architects: Tato Architects / Structural engineer: tmsd Takashi Manda Structural Design_Takashi Manda / Steel work: Kinuta Kentetsu_Yoichi Kinuta / Fabric: fabricscape_Kiyohiko Yamamoto, Kazuari Morinaga / Contractor: Amza Koumuten_Hirotaka Azuma / Use: studio and house / Site area: 165.15m2 / Bldg. area: 121.38m2 / Gross floor area: 321.09m2 / Bldg. scale: 3 stories above ground / Structure: steel frame / Design: 2016.7~2019.3 / Construction: 2019.4~2020.6 / Completion: 2020 / Photograph: ©Daici Ano (courtesy of the architect)
