Design Studio 3

C I N E MATI C C O M M O N S CATALINA - IOANA TUDOR YEAR 2 DESIGN STUDIO PORTFOLIO 3 STUDENT ID: 77176482 WEBSITE: catalinatudor.com

LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY TUTOR: SARAH MILLS

C O NTE NTS

D ES I G N ST U D I O 3 : 1. Film Analysis: T H E F A M I LY G A M E 1 9 8 3 2. A Machiya’s Story S T O R Y B O A R D 3. Film Stills: T H E S P I R I T O F W A ( J A PA N ) 4. The History of Gion 5. Changing Building Typologies 6. Location Analysis 7. Gion AreaAxo of Existing Site 8. Set model 9. Machiya Particuliarities 10. Takahashi House 11. Craft Community 11. Gion cornet Theatre - Strategy 1 12. Matsuri Festival - Strategy 2 13. Workshop Joinery Schoool - Strategy 3 14. Building Use 15. Structure 16. Gion Area - Proposed

w e b s i te : c a t a l i n a t u d o r. c o m vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ctudor

Yo s h i m i t s u M o r i t a

TH E FA M I LY GA M E 1 9 8 3 This Film representes a critique of “affluent, middle-class nuclear family life in the city and noseto-the-grindstone education systems”. Its laughs derive from inappropriate and idiosyncratic behaviour, unseemly frankness, slapstick antics, gross-out tactics, repetitions, exaggerations, explosive contrasts, and unnatural pacing Hyperbolic sound design, juxtaposition of extremes, venue-inappropriate language and ludicrous weaponry contribute to the scene’s affective impact. There is no music throughout the film.

The direction is masterful, with eye-catching compositions, and close-ups that help convey the cramped quarters and lack of privacy that is often a given in Japanese city life

Physical space, is at a premium in Family Game.

The family members take their meals sitting shoulder-toshoulder on one side of a long table. For private conversations, Mother and Father or Father and Tutor retire, wrapped in winter coats, to the less-than-spacious front seat of the family car, their breath fogging the windows in the cold night air.

Shots of the feeding family, are flat. And though, of course, the elbow-bumping that results from the cramped all-in-a-row seating arrangement is intrinsically funny, the orientation of the table, the x-axis movement of the foodserver, and the horizontal line up of diners contribute to the image’s precise, mechanical, frontal, flat humour.

GSPublisherEngine 0.0.100.100

Replacing the music is a frequent use of overloud sound effects, especially a disquieting use of high volume eating sounds.

Almost every time someone eats or drinks, it becomes a noisy affair, the wet, squishy, or crunching sounds resonating over the soundscape of the film, filling the void of the empty conversation

K yo t o - Wo o d C ra f t

A MA C H I YA ’ S STO RY This is the story of a machiya townhouse in today’s Kyoto, set in Sakyo Ward.

This storyboard seeks to give a glimpse into the history and the use of these dwellings, by telling the story of an artisan’s life.

The Film Essay concentrates mostly on the domestic aspect or the spaces and how they were used in comparison to the living spaces preferd today by people.

Even though some aspect still remain similar, there is a clear difference in preference and the performance of daily chores such as cooking, eating, washing or bed making.

udatsu

Typology: Machiya are long narrow wooden ‘merchant houses’ characterised by a shop space (mise no ma) to the street. They are found throughout Japan and typified by those built in Kyoto. The shop space has sliding timber shutters (koshi) that open to facilitate the display of goods.

Behind the shop space, the remainder of the Machiya is divided into the tatami matted kyoshitsubu (living Spaces), the doma tor (earthen floored service space that contains the kitchen, tsuboniwa (courtyard gardens) and Kura (store houses). These rooms have raised floors tatami mats and sliding washi rice paper and wooden screens.

Rear access is often provided via a communal services lane (roji). A typical Kyoto Machiya is aprox. 20mx6m. The width of the block was historically the basis for then a tax and as such wider Machiya came to indicate wealth and success.

hisashi

The interior of an artisan’s dwelling.

The small room could be interpreted as a mise at the front of the building, followed by what can be interpreted as the living room with slightly lover timber floor, partially covered with tatami, with an irori (heart) cut in it. The enclosed room with solidly constructed timber walls and a single entrace, is intended as the sleeping room (chodai/ nando). Adjacent to these rooms, there is a doma area that incorporates the cooking area.

degoshi tobukuro

odo

nando

nando doma doma

chigaidana butsudan

Street front of a nineteenth-century machiya with jettied upper floor and udatsu

daidokoro/mise

tokonoma

daidokoro/mise

zashiki

The original eighteenth-century layout, representing an early arrangement, predating the emergence of shoin receprtion rooms.

daidokoro doma

mise oku mise

Private/ Residential

Public/Commercial

History of the Typology:

Street

Typical Eighteenth-century Kyo-Machiya

Machiya (townhouses) and noka (farm dwellings) constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as minka (folk dwellings).

C a t a l i n a - I o a n a Tu d o r 77176482

Film Stills

TH E S P I R IT O F WA ( JA PA N ) The Objective of this Philosophy is to inherit and nurture the “Spirit of WA (Japan)”

Th e H i s t o r y o f G i o n

The Important Eras

Meiji Era 1. Heian Era (794-192)

3. Beginning of the Meiji Era

Beginning with Heian-Kyo 平安京, then Kyoto was founded as new capital by Emperor Kanmu.

Kyoto’s position as nation capital and imperial seat ended.

• The transfer of the capital brought the Kyoto area many civil wars and big fires which destroyed the central area.

• The reconstruction after the war lasted to the end of the Meiji Period. Most of the machiya houses and temples were rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries from the wood left over from the fires.

1980s

2. Muromachi Era (1392-1573)

4. Modern Era (1968~)

A new military government was established at the site of Heian-kyo.

Japanese cities were brought with new materials affecting the design of the traditional machiya.

Most of the present Kyo-machiya buildings were constructed at the very beginning of Showa Era. A Kyo-machiya is a terraced house with large tiled roof of Hirairi style, and is built with the traditional wooden frame technique. Large doors, wooden lattice doors and lattice windows painted with colcothar are the main features of Kyo-machiya which form the street landscape.

The entertainment district of Gion in Kyoto as seen from the steps of Yasaka Shrine. Gion’s Shijo-dori was originally only about 5.5 meters wide. But in 1874 (Meiji 7) it was widened to 9 meters. In 1912 (Taisho 1) it was once again widened, this time to 22 meters. This made it possible for streetcars to ply Shijo-dori.

• Machiya were not burned down in WWII in Kyoto because Kyoto was no longer the capital but Tokyo and other four biggest cities in Japan were burnt out during the war.

• Therefore, the traditional town style of Kyoto continued from Heian-kyo and the Kyoto people managed to keep the style until today.

• Shops along Kyoto street play different roles; Commercial • These structures eventually become huts including small spaces, public gathering and etc. shop spaces.

• Most urban space (Heian period) was reserved for houses • Sometimes, the aristocrat couldn’t occupy a whole block or official structures of the aristocracy. due to fires or decrease in power, they would rent land to merchants and permanent commercial presence gradually • But the aristocrats did not leave spaces in the city plan for developed. Kyo-machiya was born. dwellings.

As their business prospered, they rented or bought the adjacent land behind their stores from the owners and • As a result, merchants came in during the day and set up built their dwelling houses and workshops. In this way, early temporary platforms, stalls or booth to do their business.

Mise spaces were extended deep backwards for dwelling, workshops, storage and finally, Machiya was formed.

Kyoto, then called Heian-kyō, was established as the seat of Japan’s imperial court in 794, at the start of the Heian period. It remained the capital city until the court moved to Tokyo in 1869. The city was built on the model of the Tang capital Chang’an and followed the grid-pattern of its roadplan.

Early maps of Kyoto were hand-painted and, initially, intended to preserve the memory of previous stages of the city as it grew and changed, rather than as aids for navigation. Later, maps started to be produced for and used by the city administrators as detailed surveys, showing road widths, house size, landowners’ names and place names.

As such, it excludes important areas that contemporary users would have found useful for day-to-day navigation, such as the economic district or popular tourist sites. It does, however, show Nijō Castle at the west (left) and the Kyoto Imperial Palace at the north-east.

After this point, as the map industry boomed and commercial competition grew, publishers started experimenting with more accurate representations, including sites of interest and practical information for navigating the city.

Kyo- Machiya History

Kyo-machiya is said to have originated in the middle of Heian Period or the 10th century. As Ritsuryo law weakened, local craftsmen and merchants who had been recruited to work in Kyoto started to settle down in the city and made a living here. Gradually they became prosperous and fixed huts in front of the walls on large and small streets. This is believed to be the origin of Kyo-machiya. Eventually rich citizens started buying pieces of land from aristocrats, demolished the walls along the streets, and constructed their own houses there.

Today‟s Kyo-machiya is the prototype of shops on the streets where many citizens would frequently visit for shopping.

These streets started serving as passages as well as platforms for communication where people came to talk and to celebrate festivals. Eventually, facilities such as public restrooms were constructed and Ryogawa-cho or a community of the areas facing each other across the street were born.

1626 map of Kyoto

Modern Era

1946 map of Kyoto - Gion Area

C h a n g i n g B u i l d i n g Ty p o l o g i e s

Due to the issues such as maintenance cost, ownership and Decreasing Machiya tenure, and safety issues, the aged Machiya’s have been replaced with more modern buildings.

About 13% of Machiya were destroyed between 1996 and 2003. According to the same survey, after a Machiya has Fostered by the collapse of the bubble economy, the number been torn down, over 40% of the sites are used for new of Machiya’s has been rapidly declining. As a result, the residential buildings are used for high-rise apartments, beautiful townscape which once formed the city is being commercial buildings, or car parks. (from a survey conducted lost. in 2003)

Changing Machiya

The difficulty of preserving Machiya

Over 80% of existing Machiya have lost some aspect of their original traditional structure (degoshi lattice, mushiko mado window, tsuchi kabe earthen wall, etc.). Many have had their outer walls plasterd with cement mortar or covered with other modern materials. Machiya where the walls have been covered like this are called kanban kenchiku. Kanban kenchiku account for roughly 20% all the Machiya in Kyoto. (from a survey conducted in 1998).

According to a survey conducted in 2003, more than 50% of Machiya residents say that it is financially difficult to maintain or keep up a Machiya. Earthquake resistance and fire prevention is also a big concern. Through Machiya are a presious kind of heritage passed down from generation to generation, the psychological and financial difficulty of living in a Machiya is very challenging in reality.

Traditional Machiya Typology

Contemporary MachiyaTypology

Transition of Kyo-Machiya Machiya

Kyo-Machiya

misenoma to the garage

remove the lattice and replaced by aluminium sash

traditional building attached modern facade

Contemporary Machiya Typologies

Today the Machiya’s themselves are copies because most Such developments are beginning to impact the Gion of them had to be rebuild after a large fire in 1964.

Area. They typically maintain the shape of the original construction, however using more moder materials.

Location analysis 1:2000

Kyo t o C i t y The city of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture at present has eleven wards, of which Higashiwama-ku is one of them.

This ward was established in 1921 and was decided from Kamigyo.

My site is located within the Higashiwama Ward in the Gion area, next to Gion Corner, which represents a cultural hub, composed of two museums, a performing arts theatre, temple and a Japanese style garden.

KYOTO population in 2017 1 465 692

H i g a s h i y a m a Wa r d Population in 2017 39,044

1.

Shijo Dori 2.

Kam o

Hanamiko

river

ji Dori

7.

Key: theatre museum green space Kamo river cafe traditional restaurant

4.

accommodation

6.

5.

Dori

8.

Higashi Oji Dori

3.

shop Buddhist Temple Yasaka Shrine

Yamato O ji

1. Gion Train Station 2. Kenninju Temple 3. Gion Corner 4. Yasaka Hall - Performing Arts Theatre 5. Forever Museum of contemporary arts 6. Events Hall 7. Minami-za Theatre 8. Kenninji Temple

Yasaka Dori

A more accessible experience is the cultural show held everyday at Gion Corner at the end of Hanami-koji. Aimed at foreign tourists, the show is a highly concentrated introduction to several traditional Japanese arts and include short performances of a tea ceremony, ikebana, bunraku, Kyogen comic plays and dances performed by real maiko. If you are in Kyoto in April, check out the Miyako Odori with daily dance performances by maiko.

G i o n a rea , Kyo t o Is Kyoto’s most famous geisha district, located around Shijo Avenue between Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kamo River in the west. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geiko (Kyoto dialect for geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain.

Gion attracts tourists with its high concentration of traditional wooden machiya merchant houses. Due to the fact that property taxes were formerly based upon street frontage, the houses were built with narrow facades only five to six meters wide, but extend up to twenty meters in

from the street.

The most popular area of gion is Hanami-koji Street from Shijo avenue to Kenninju Temple, which represents a nice and expensive place to dine Kyoto style kaiseki ryori (Japanese haute cuisine), the street and its side alleys are lined with preserved machiya houses many of which now function as restaurants.

Over the years this area has transformend into an explisive place where guests have to be introduced to this type of entertainment by existing customers, the service of geiko and maiko is quite expensive and japanese language is

required, however todaythere are some agenties that offer such packages to non Japanese speaking tourists.

My thesis proposal looks at how to bring back this dying culture of woodworking since it is clearly needed today. By designing a learning hub inbred within the Gion community where time spears to have remained still, with narrow roads, machiya buildings, geisha and tea-houses, even though it is purposely maintains as such for tourists this area represented the best place to imbed a new learning institution into the soon to be forgotten Japanese wood craft.

Narrow streets surounding the proposed site location.

Poposed site located behind the Gion Corner performing arts theatre.

Hanami-koji Street represents the main access from Gion train station to my proposed sites.

1:200

G I O N A R EA - KYOTO [ EX I STI N G ]

Set Model

Tra d i t i o n a l w o o d w o r k i n g a n d t h e M a c h i y a A d y i n g c u l t u re The Machiya are Japanese townhouses, part of the vernacular architecture known as minka (folk dwellings) Originated in the Heian period and continued to develop in the Edo period and in the Meiji period, they housed urban merchants and craftsmen referred to as chonin - towns people. machi = town ya = house/ shop

Set model studying the spaces created in buildings, how they interact and open up depending on ones needs.

Machiya date back to the Heian period (794 AD) and was in continual use until just before World War One when the Japanese government prohibited the building on new private houses, and following the war, prevented the resumption of traditional construction methods due to concerns about fire and earthquakes. Traditionally small neighbourhoods made up craftsmen lived in closely grouped Machiya on both sides of a narrow street, helped create a strong sense of community. Due to development and building regulations many of these neighbourhoods have now been demolished.

Today the Machiya’s themselves are copies because most of them had to be rebuild after a large fire in 1964.

My thesis proposal looks at how to bring back this dying culture of woodworking since it is clearly needed today. By designing a learning hub inbred within the Gion community where time spears to have remained still, with narrow

Forensis

Forensis

MA C H I MA YA C H I YA PA RTI C U L A R ITI ES Most Machiya in gion Area, surounding the sites still mentain the traditional aspect of the outer facade however the original fuction has been changed to restaurants andsurrounding accomodations. a Most Machiya in Gion Area the sitesAsstill result thethecirculation specific to outer a machiya became maintain traditional aspect of the facade however limited resulting in ahas limited circulation and the original function been public changed to restaurants no with the andconnection accommodations.

As agarden. result the circulation specific

to a machiya became limited resulting in a limited public circulation and no connection with the garden.

Private/ Private/Residential Residential Private/ Residential Private/ Residential

Private/Residential Residential Private/

Private/Residential Residential Private/

doma

yuka

doma

yuka yuka private circuation private circulation

Public/Commercial

Private/ Residential Public/Commercial

public publiccircuation circulation

Private/ Private/ Residential Residential

doma doma

tooriniwa

yuka yuka

Ta ttaammi imm a t a: t : Ta

doma

Standardised horizontal unit unit of approximately 1.8m / •• Standardised horizontal of approximately 90cm /90cm 1.8m

doma

The proportion hashas shaped thethe vertical dimensions of the ••The proportion shaped vertical dimensions building of the building matmat is a place sleeping, leisure and •• The Thetatami tatami is a for place for eating, sleeping, eating work and work leisure

2 1

C oommppo o s ist i ot ino: n : C

0

Layers ofofrice straw covered with with igusa igusa rush rush •• Layers rice straw covered

Private/ Residential

Private/ Residential yuka yuka

C a t a l i n a - I o a n a Tu d o r 77176482

Forensis

TA KA H AS H I H O U S E - YA M E

Ta n s u m o d u l a r f u r n i t u r e

Tansu are traditional mobile storage units specific to Japan, they were first recorded in the Genroku era of the Edo Period between 1688-1704. The tansu craftsmen were named Tansuyas. The most common materials used for this type of furniture is Keyaki ( elm), Kuri (chestnut), Ezo matsu (pine), Sugi (cedar), Kiri (paulownia) and Hinoki (cypress).

The Takahashi house represents one of the numerous machiya town-houses I have visited during last years Japan trip. This is a 150 year old machiya.

Family tree The room is located to the back of the building with an opening to the Japanese garden and was designed as a hidden room.

This particular machiya dealt with the paper industry and in order to make the peper easier to transport from one floor to the other also had a double height space that allowed them to easily lower the products down to the ground floor.

When this townhouse was built, merchants such as the Takahashi family were not allowed to show their wealth, however in order they created hidden rooms usually on the top floor of the building with the only access through narrow staircases made out of tansu furniture.

6.

5.

3.

4.

2.

1.

double height space

wall

7.

1. Engawa 2. Shoji Screens 3. Tokonoma 4. Tatami 5. Tansu furniture 6. Tansu furniture 7. Tansu stair

C R A FT C O M M U N ITY

Applying the joinery skills learned in the workshop

Putting on performances, transparent to the community.

By opening up the theatre everyone can enjoy the culture and the performances

Creating a craft community for everyone, Japanese and tourists

Working on the maintenance of the Matsuri floats

Living and working environment for Craftsmen.

Learning Japanese joinery and carpentry skills

Transparent craft community accommodation

• Extending the original site by connecting the workshop to the theatre.

• Exposing the performance process by carving into the building

Matsuri festival.

• Maintaining and storing floats for the Matsuri festival which takes place every year during the summer.

Workshop Joinery school • Physical adaptation taken from machiya town-houses Reinterpreted/ affordable housing for traders, craft people

G I O N C O R N ER TH EATR E

STR ATEGY 1

This proposal aims to allow the theatre to be transparent to the public. By opening out the back wall which represents the back of the stage, performances can be experienced from both inside the theatrea and outside, thus creating a new experience for the community as well as for visitours.

MATS U R I F ESTI VA L

祇園祭

STR ATEGY 2

Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), the festival of Yasaka Shrine, is the Shinshin-no Furyu* can be seen in the rituals and floats of most famous festival in Japan. It takes place over the entire Gion Festival which is said to be the flower of city festivals.

Yamaboko floats procession is the highlight of the festival month of July. and the floats are called as moving museums.

There are many different events, but the grand procession of floats (Yamaboko Junko) on July 17 is particularly The colourful and gorgeous floats, designated as important spectacular. Very enjoyable, are also the festive evenings tangible folklore property, feed the soul of the audience with joy. They also represent the spirit of Machishu or preceding the procession (Yoiyama). town‟s people who have inherited the long tradition.

From 2014, a second procession of floats was reintroduced on July 24 after a hiatus of 48 years. The second procession The origin of the festival goes back to 869 when a plague broke out in the city. By the imperial order, Hiromaro URABE features fewer and smaller floats than the one on July 17.

erected 66 spears at Shinsen-en garden and ushered in gods of Gion-sha to conduct Gion Goryo-e. Later a small shrine was constructed in Yasaka area to enshrine Gyuto-Tenno deity. After 970, Gion Goryo-e became an annual event.

In the age of North and South dynasties, Yamaboko floats were added by the town‟s people to create a gorgeous atmosphere to the festival

floats were destroyed by fire many times. However, local communities replaced the destroyed floats with new one which have been passed down till today.

Each community has its own organization or committee responsible for the preservation, maintenance and operation of the festival. Out of 32, 29 are designated as important tangible cultural properties by the national Although Yamaboko procession was abandoned during government.

Ohnin War, it was resumed in 1500. Later on, floats were decorated with tapestries imported from countries such as China, Persia and Belgium. During Edo Period, the

Yasaka Shrine

reception heavy machinery operation reading & crafting corridor Wc storage plant

The Matsuri festival takes place anually in Kyoto It goes for the entire month of July.

There are 2 tipes of floats: YAMA floats: weight:1.200-1.600 kg height: about 6 m HOKO floats: weight:1.200-1.600 kg height: about 25 m (8m from ground to roof) weel diameter: about 1.8m

Over the course of the year, prominent houses in this district store woodes frameworks and decorations that are brought out into the streets for the festival and assembled into floats.

Some decorations are centuries old, including metalwork, lacquer, woodcarvings, brocades and rugs.

HOKO float

• Applying the joinery skils learned in the workshops to the maintainance of the Matsuri floats.

• Getting the Community involved • Combining the performances with the Matsury festival • Getting involved with the Festival • Getting involved with the organising of the Festival

A Hoko is pushed by 30-40 men. Yama are the small floats carried by several people on their shoulders.

One of the reason why this festival is so impressive is its long and almost uninterrupted history. It dates back to 869 as a religious ceremony to appease the gods during the outbreak of an epidemic. Even today, the festival continues the practice of selecting a local boy to be a divine messenger.

The child cannot set foot on the ground from the 13th until after he has been paraded through town on the 17th

Inheritance of Skills Floats are assembled by a traditional technique and skills of rope knotting and tying called “Nawagarami”, without using a single nail.

These skills have been handed down from the past till today. Through these refined cognitive skills, the shock of the movement of the more than 20 metres tall Yamahoko floats, weighing more than ten tons, is absorbed, and the tilting angle is accommodated. The remarkably experienced assemblers are also earnestly committed to maintaining the grace in visual aspects of Gion Festival by applying their precious skills in the beauty of the knots, bends and hitches.

After the procession, Yamaboko floats are dismantled. It is believed that by dismantling the floats they get rid of demons which were trapped in them. This process of assembling and dismantling is being repeated every year.

The skills related to the festival and the festival itself have been inherited from the past. A large number of people are involved in handling the Yamaboko floats. They include carpenters and their assistants; people called „kurumagata‟ who change the direction of the floats by putting wedges under the wheels, roof attendants called „yane kata‟ who keep a watch to avoid the collision of floats with obstacles, musicians on the floats, some people standing in front of floats called „ondotori‟ or mobility supervisors who oversee the movements of „kurumagata‟ and pullers or „hikite‟, the carriers or „kakite‟ and the pullers. Since the carpentry work of the festival requires advanced skills, most of these carpenters are professional ones.

More than 1000 pieces of ornamental fabrics that are displayed on the floats are produced during and before Edo Period. Out of these, 30% were imported from abroad. These were originally used as carpets and tapestries. One of these carpets is the only one of its kind left in the world. These carpets and tapestries have survived well until today because they have been well preserved and used only during the festival Alongside the wood craft strategy, maintaining and giving a helpful hand to this famous festival will be one of the main objectives or this proposal.

To understand the necessary requirements of these floats the process of the Gion Matsuri was investigated in depth to outline its programmatic requirements in terms of space need alongside other environmental conditions that might be needed.

WO R K S H O P J O I N ERY S C H O O L

STR ATEGY 3

Engawa

Shoji Screens

Tatami

Oshiire closet

Is a covered hallway or verandah made of wood, which extends on the side of a house, typically facing a yard or garden. Some engawa are equipped with sash sliding doors or storm shutters; so that by opening and closing these doors, the engawa can be either indoors or outdoors. It is a structure very unique to traditional Japanese houses.

Shoji in traditional Japanese architecture can be referred to windows, doors or room divider, usually consisting of translucent washi paper over a wooden frame which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo. These screens are predominantly found in the traditional architecture, they allow for warm light to go through the rooms and also for interchangeable rooms, creating a transparency of spaces that all-own the user to see and experience the space even before entering it.

Define the spaces in the townhouses and inform the size of the rooms, however the spaces inbetween do not use tatamis mats.

By using a tatami with a better quality base, the longest it will last and it will be more economical in the long term.

At night the futon beds are layes in th eliving rooms, However during the days, the futons are stored in the oshiire (closet).

These spaces are quite neutral acting as a transition space between the inside and outside, however they tend to become as meeting spaces for people.

Since one of the aim of the project is to create that transparency in order to expose the wood craft , I will be using shoji screens through the proposal.

Tatami increases the Indoor Environmental Quality, which includes factors like: air quality, acoustics, and humidity. Tatami filters the air in a room, absorbing carbon dioxide, increasing the Indoor Air Quality. The mats also act as insulation both for temperature and sound.

The rush weave cover (omote) absorbs or expels moisture in the room when the seasons change. This absorption regulates humidity and the temperature in the space. These qualities are essential to a relaxing, healthy living environment.

Tokonoma In Japanese houses, the formal room where the family entertain their guests often have a tokonoma and a garden view. the Tokonoma is used to display formal flower arrangements, seasonal scrolls, or other seasonal ogjects.

Guests are often served tea and Japanese wagashi sweets in a very special way.

GSPublisherEngine 0.0.100.100

scale 1:50

The space is inspired by the machiya, more specific the hidden rooms that merchans were enjoying in private, since they were not allowed to show luxury, these rooms were ‘hidden’ on the top floor of the Machiya, without a clear access and facing the inner japanese garden.

WO R K S H O P J O I N ERY S C H O O L

STR ATEGY 3

The majority of the materials for the two ‘hidden rooms ‘ that are located above the main craft room are repurposed wood from demolished machiya townhouses.

By doing so these would represent of piece of Kyoto history, that would inform the students about the traditional way of the wood craft.

The rooms will act as reading and breakout spaces where student and their tutors can relax or have discussions about what they have learned during the workshops. these spaces will be created with traditional Japanese joineries without the need of nutsand bosts or any tipe of glue. The access to these spaces will be through climbing the tansu stairs tha during the classes will act as storage for tools and other necesities, only after classes will thei be rearanged as stairs.

scale 1:20

• 3 different workshop programmes • The one week workshop •The fundamentals of woodworking •Craftsmen demonstration •Students can try their hand at using tools

• The 1 month workshop (Sashimono) • Is a traditional craft of wooden furniture, the name comes from putting two pieces together without using nails.

‘KYO- SASHIMONO’ • Students will learn about joinery and experiment in creating pieces themselves

• The 3 month workshop • This workshop could vary depending on the necessity of the area.

• Students could help create Machiya elements that are needed in the community The teaching workshops will be conceived as transparent in a similar style to the traditional worand shop space in the Machiya townhouses where people passing by could see what was going on inside .

The Joinery School aims to teach up to 20 students in the 3 different programmes that are offered.

Building Use

staff accommodation

6-8

Activities: •accommodation for 5-6 permanent and visiting master craftsmen

stair core lift breakout space

stair core lift craft room [double height space]

stair core lift Breakout space craft room store

Activities:

5

•breakout spaces above the main craft room

4

Activities: double height craft room

Activities:

3

main store for tools and other necessities second craft room with an additional breakout space overlooking Gion area

Back Access

stair core lift class room stepped classroom toilets preparation room heavy machinery room warehouse

main access reception shop preparation room changing room toilets tea room stair core lift

Activities:

2

•main classrooms to introduce the students to the art of Japanese joinery •wood marehouse with direct access from the back of the building •the heavy machinery workshop

Japanese garden

Japanese garden

Activities: •main reception for the school.

•the main preparation area for the wood that is going to be used for the workshops •the shop will store tansu furniture made in the workshops

1

Main Access

Structure

The rest of the floors which will represent the accommodation for the students will have a timber structure using traditional Japanese joinery techniques.

The skeleton of the first 4 floors will constitute a reinforced concrete structure.

Steel reinforced concrete structure, along with iron frames, mu proposal will primarily employ concrete with iron reinforced bars inside.

This structure utilizes both steel and reinforced concrete.

Iron poles and beams, which are further supported by iron reinforced bars, are later filled with concrete.

This structure is often used in high -rise buildings because it provides excellent seismic resistance and is also solid and durable.

This type of structure was chosen in order to withstand the full weight of the building together with the additional floors.

1:200

G I O N A R EA - KYOTO [ P R O P O S E D ]

The above images highlights the master plan proposal, showing the proposed interventions as well as the proposed extended route for the Matsuri Festival.