A house transformed: years of layered updates and additions were embraced in order to turn this Kyoto building into something both classic and new. Set in the city’s Shimogyo Ward, House Tenjin gives new life to an early Showa-era machiya, transforming the traditional townhouse into a micro hotel, enhancing the architectural elements that made it such a special building.

Rather than attempting a faithful restoration, architects Atelier Yoo worked with the building’s layered history, using it as the foundation for a quieter, more contemporary way of inhabiting the space. Having been used for all manner of purposes over the decades, years of alterations and changes had obscured a lot of the home’s defining features, from the original layout to the light-filled void that once helped ventilate and illuminate the interior. Instead of undoing every change, the design selectively reorganized the layout around the existing timber structure, allowing the timber to shine and recreating the original layout. 

At the heart of the building is the reimagined hibukuro – the traditional double-height space that would have once brought daylight deep into the home. With its original form long since disappeared, the renovation sought to reimagine it using carefully placed walls, built-in furniture, and exposed timber elements allowing the light to filter into the space. While not glaringly bright, the result is an interior that feels rich, somewhat moody, and deeply atmospheric. 

Rather than preserving the past, House Tenjin brings the building and its historic character into a new chapter. See more projects by Atelier Yoo.

Photography © Kazuoki Yasugi