A housing complex with folded street gardens.

The site is located slightly east of Nijo Castle, in a neighborhood where traditional Kyoto machiya houses coexist with reinforced concrete and non-descript siding structures. I felt that justifying the meaning of constructing buildings solely based on tradition in such a neighborhood had little significance. Instead, I believed that the starting point of the design should be how to perceive and embrace this intriguing landscape, which is by no means uncommon in present-day Kyoto, and how to establish connections with the surrounding environment.

The plan consists of four parallel buildings that incorporate and reconfigure the traditional Kyoto machiya model while folding it. Each building creates an area resembling a folded street garden on its southern side, ensuring ample daylight and ventilation. By setting these points of contact, the buildings maintain a moderate distance from the street and neighboring houses while allowing various elements such as the expansiveness and ambiance of the street to permeate the interiors. This design aims to enrich the living experience while maintaining a compact footprint.

Each building has slight variations in form. These differences, amplified by the residents’ lifestyles, the appearance of the street, and the changing seasons, manifest themselves on the continuous facade of trees, enhancing the richness of the neighborhood. With its soft and responsive points of connection to the surroundings, this cluster of buildings blends into the townscape while forming a new environment.