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Architects: Fumihiko Sano Studio
- Area: 139 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Omote Nobutada
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Manufacturers: Aica, JFE, Jimbo, SANWA SIGNWORKS
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Lead Architect: Fumihiko Sano
Text description provided by the architects. Sione Ginkakuji Branch is a renovation project of an old folk house located near Ginkakuji. The store sells porcelain products made by the client and operates as a café using the aforementioned tableware. Large glazing fixtures are placed on the entrance façade to allow for a clear view of the store from the outside. The entrance door has been decorated with a handle referencing the gold and white colors of the tableware while the frame is made from a simple wood finish with a glass middle so that customers can see the tableware upon approaching the store. Once entering the store, the porcelain products are displayed on shelves attached to the wall and a table at the center of the room.
To highlight the beauty of the tableware, colors of the shelves and furniture have been kept simple in shape and color. A traditional Japanese styled tea room is directly connected to the store and functions as a café. The garden space located in the back allow for natural daylight and greenery to act as a backdrop of the café and store.
Since the building is a mixture of the old and the new materials, the existing clay wall was retained while calcium silicate board was used for the newly constructed partition walls. The new board finish matches the white matte color of the client’s porcelain tableware. The calcium silicate boards were attached using gold-plated screws so that the pitch and height of the screw head were arranged to create an evenly pattered design on the surface of the white wall.
Calcium silicate board is mixed with the plaster finish to match the texture and untreated wood is joined together with old wood. The sparsely located gold screw heads are reminiscent of the appearance of golden dots painted porcelain that changes during the baking of the kiln. As the artist applies the gold finish through a process known in Japan as “kindami”, the gold dots shown from the attachments in contrasted with the simple white background. The aesthetics of the store is a space with a sense of unity, referencing the artistic expression of porcelain.
