SubscribeSign In
y
Project posted by Yi Hsen Gian

Komatsu South

View 8 Photos
A beam salvaged from an old house lends gravitas to the studio unit on the second floor. The tatami bedroom can be closed off from the kitchen and dining area with a sliding fusuma door that is usually kept open during the day.
A beam salvaged from an old house lends gravitas to the studio unit on the second floor. The tatami bedroom can be closed off from the kitchen and dining area with a sliding fusuma door that is usually kept open during the day.
The dresser in a Western bedroom at Komatsu South. The paper of the shoji window filters the light coming from the south and softens it.
The dresser in a Western bedroom at Komatsu South. The paper of the shoji window filters the light coming from the south and softens it.
The central garden as seen from the ground floor corridor. According to garden designer Aki Murase, who tries to find a place for materials passed over by others, these rocks would not normally be used in a Japanese garden as they would be considered too rough and ugly.
The central garden as seen from the ground floor corridor. According to garden designer Aki Murase, who tries to find a place for materials passed over by others, these rocks would not normally be used in a Japanese garden as they would be considered too rough and ugly.
At the top of the stairs is a door covered with indigo-dyed paper. The door slides to one side to reveal a koshikake machiai, the waiting area for guests at Japanese tea gatherings.
At the top of the stairs is a door covered with indigo-dyed paper. The door slides to one side to reveal a koshikake machiai, the waiting area for guests at Japanese tea gatherings.
Light in the koshikake machiai – the waiting area – is carefully controlled to help guests focus on the tea gathering about to begin.
Light in the koshikake machiai – the waiting area – is carefully controlled to help guests focus on the tea gathering about to begin.
The wood and plaster lines of the roof curve around the sky. Guests can experience Japan’s rich culture without leaving Komatsu South through private tea gatherings as well as performances and workshops exploring traditional performing arts. Without the pressure of time often found in more commercial settings, guests have plenty of opportunity to talk to cultural experts about their craft.
The wood and plaster lines of the roof curve around the sky. Guests can experience Japan’s rich culture without leaving Komatsu South through private tea gatherings as well as performances and workshops exploring traditional performing arts. Without the pressure of time often found in more commercial settings, guests have plenty of opportunity to talk to cultural experts about their craft.
A modern take on the tokonoma – the decorative alcove in a traditional Japanese room – in the rooftop tea space. The top bar was required by safety regulations but, by tapering the wood at both ends, the bar was made to resemble Rikyu bashi, the chopsticks used at tea gatherings.
A modern take on the tokonoma – the decorative alcove in a traditional Japanese room – in the rooftop tea space. The top bar was required by safety regulations but, by tapering the wood at both ends, the bar was made to resemble Rikyu bashi, the chopsticks used at tea gatherings.

Credits

Posted by

From Yi Hsen Gian

Travelling to Kyoto only to find home: in designing the Komatsu South townhouse as luxury serviced accommodation, it was our hope that guests would feel as though they had a second home in Japan’s old capital, with all the quiet and privacy this would mean.

Komatsu South is Shimaya Stays’ third machiya; the venture began by saving two wooden townhouses from the wrecking ball in 2014 and restoring them for travelers. The design ethos remains the same: behind traditional wooden lattice exteriors lie living spaces at once light and modern yet recognizably Japanese in the use of wood, tatami, plaster walls and handmade paper.

Divided into four apartments – studio and 2-bedroom units with a mix of Western and Japanese bedrooms – Komatsu South can cater to parties ranging from single travelers to groups of up to 15 people. All units come with a kitchenette, cooking appliances and utensils, as well as a washing machine/dryer: an essential item for many of our guests.

As Komatsu South was built from scratch, we were also able to introduce communal spaces such as a rooftop tea ceremony space – quite possibly a first in the history of Japanese wooden townhouses.

But architecture does not exist in isolation. Shimaya Stays feels that, in order to protect machiya, we must show how they fit into the wider culture. So we have teamed up with practitioners of traditional arts such as Noh and the Way of Tea to stage performances, workshops and tea gatherings at Komatsu South, introducing guests to classic forms in a new setting.