Izama

Located in the historic district in Nakagyo ward, central Kyoto, IZAMA is a Japanese restaurant with an old storehouse and courtyard. The white plaster walls, which originally covered the exterior of the existing storehouse, were made extremely thin to their limits in order to sharply frame the scenery of the garden and the interior. The walls are suspended from the ceiling like a curtain, which was why the thickness of 8 mm could be achieved. In order to reduce the weight of the walls, plaster was applied on the iron plate of 4.5 mm thickness, with unnecessary parts for the structure being punched out. The white plaster absorbs light and earns lightness as though they were paper. The thickness and density of the stainless iron mesh, which are suspended as dividers among the tables, had their permeability adjusted to be the most suitable for the space.
The large table in the center has a dull glow as though it was a candle with its customized finish with brass powder mixed in. Breakfast buffets are served on the table in the morning. The central lighting is set in the height of an eyesight so people in line for the buffet and those sitting at the other side of the table would not have their perspectives crossing over. The walls of the existing storage were finished with black plaster. 64 ceiling lights are suspended inside, with the black shiny table reflecting its light. Darkness of jet black spreads in the attic space above the ceiling lights. Our intention was to design a refreshing space with a simple composition, and utilize textures of each different materials as well as reflections of light.