In comparison with the energetic buzz of Tokyo, the town of Kyoto nonetheless operates at a satisfyingly measured hum, retaining way more than a veneer of the nation’s deep seated traditions, crafts, and historical past. It’s a metropolis the place heritage nonetheless survives regardless of the encroachment of up to date conveniences and applied sciences, and the place the historical past of many companies will be measured in many years…or even more than a century.
MAKHNO Studio, a Ukrainian studio devoted to up to date Ukrainian structure, inside design, and ceramics, was tasked to thoughtfully replace a piece of a century-old home in Kyoto in respect to this enduring spirit of historic Japanese tradition – to rigorously add “a drop of Ukrainian colour to the Japanese context.”
Owned by a household with youngsters, the century-old KYOTO HOUSE nonetheless wears a discernible diploma of its conventional heritage as exhibited by the rooms’ textured clay wall surfaces, unique tatami mats, shoji screens, and a ground plan optimized for furnishings located nearer to the bottom. The household makes use of this part of the house to stage conventional tea ceremonies and accommodate for in a single day company. The problem introduced to MAKHNO Studio was discovering the gentlest path towards restoration, using solely touches of modernity with a conscientious care to keep up its historic atmosphere.
A pair of Wassily Chairs by Marcel Breuer for Knoll on paper could appear incongruous with the normal Japanese parts, however positioned thoughtfully as visible bookends, the seamless tubular body and black leather-based blends pleasantly into its launched setting.
The inside is characterised by its “shoin-zukuri” or “examine fashion” detailing with origins spanning again to the dwellings of Zen monks and samurai of the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries, an architectural modus vivendi recognized by rooms incorporating rice paper partitions and shoji sliding doorways.
New parts of Ukrainian aesthetics have been launched to interaction with the unique parts, together with Ukrainian zoomorphic ceramics, plates, and earthenware by MAKNO Studio’s personal Slavko Odarchenko, work by artist Oleksandr Babak, in addition to conventional and fashionable Japanese graphics. The additions are refined, with the sum of its impact upon the whole thing of the area speaking the house operates not as a museum, however as a usable area conscious of the current.
The waves of time left traces on [the home], making it distinctive. Due to this fact, when reconstructing it, it was vital to not destroy these emotions, however moderately to refine and improve them by including a drop of Ukrainian colour to the Japanese context.
A minimalist ikebana association of seasonal vegetation is positioned as an embodiment of the ideas of wabi and sabi: an appreciation of the sweetness inherent within the transience of time.
A “roji,” or small tea backyard, welcomes company with poetic landscaping embellished with Japanese ritual stones and Ukrainian DIDO artwork sculptures from the MAKHNO workshop. The small items are positioned as protecting totems, shielding occupants from dangerous vibes and undesirable company.
The KYOTO HOUSE embodies the harmonious convergence of two distinct cultures, inviting people to immerse themselves within the serene simplicity of savoring tea, connecting with our senses, and in appreciation of Japanese heritage. Or as succinctly said by MAKHNO Studio’s founder, Serhii Makhno: “It is a residence for tea and life.”
Images by Naoki Miyashita.
