This project is a conversion of a kura, a traditional Japanese warehouse, into a community space. In cooperation with a local community group, we restored and renovated this building with the broader goal of contributing to the revitalization of the area. Located in Ichikawamisatocho, a Japanese provincial town in Yamanashi prefecture, the warehouse is part of a former sake brewery compound. The main building of the compound faces the shopping street, and the warehouse faces a back alley. The restored structure is the only remaining of a longer warehouse that existed along the back alley. Due to its state of decay, the owner decided to partly demolish it, leaving only a portion of the warehouse. The walls of this remaining part of the warehouse were nevertheless severely damaged, and the resulting urban space after the demolition left an unstructured urban void without character. We proposed to re-use the remaining warehouse and the surrounding space, conceiving the whole as a public space open for the local community.
© Montse Zamorano

Architects: Jorge Almazán , Keio University Almazán Lab

Location: Ichikawamisato, Nishiyatsushiro District, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

Design Team: Jorge Almazán, Gaku Inoue, Shota Takayama, Nozomi Shimizu, Tomoya Tsuji, Maho Sugiyama, Moe Kusano, Rieka Hara

Project Year: 2016

Photographs...