Re-Weaving Urban Fabrics

Based in the historic city of Kyoto, we have been working on projects related to machiya, nagaya, and alleys in many locations in Japan. Through our undertakings, we have been thinking about how to pass them on to future generations as living urban legacies rather than demolishing them or preserving them as they are.
Cities and regions, including Kyoto, become what they are today by accumulating diverse events. Rather than using such historical and regional contexts to develop architectural design concepts, can we create an architecture where one can directly appreciate these contexts as spaces? Instead of simply consuming the historical and regional contexts, can we incorporate them into the existing context to realize more fulfilling urban spaces and habitats?
We do not conduct research for the sake of design but rather to understand the context and current status of the city and focus on how we can present the future possibilities of the region. We then consider what kind of architecture we can create today on the temporal axis that extends from the past to the future, using the research findings as an ideological backdrop.
This exhibition introduces our architectural works designed against the backdrop of such research. In addition, we will relocate the framework of a teahouse building initially scheduled for demolition in the Gojo area of Kyoto to Nogizaka, Tokyo. We believe in the significance of architecture that continues to exist in its place. However, at a time when machiya and other structures are demolished every day, we invite all visitors to think together about the significance of deliberately reconstructing post-and-beam constructions at different locations.