Tea-factory
2019
Location: Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Major use: Drink shop
Completion: 2019
Total Floor Area: 39sqm
Structure : RC
Photo by TOLUHITO
“Showing the factory-kitchen”
This project site is located in front of the Jiyugaoka station in Tokyo. There are plenty of shops and restaurants around the site. You can enjoy walking and shopping in the city of Jiyugaoka. Thus, this project site has a big potential to be the starting point of an enjoyable walk around the city.
This shop offers many kinds of Taiwanese teas which are only for takeout. Now we tried to reconstruct a sort of general layout planning among takeout shops between the kitchen and the customer area by proposing the concept: showing the factory-kitchen.
Generally speaking, a kitchen in a takeout shop is situated to the interior recess side on the floor, but we dare to plan it on the front side facing to the road. And we intend to change the scene of making teas in the kitchen into a kind of fascinating display by glazing a big window for the front road. The pedestrians are able to enjoy seeing the tea-machines made of glass and made to order for this shop since these are arranged in a line by the window.
A main counter between the kitchen and the customer area arranged obliquely against the facade line in order to become as longer as possible; besides, the interface between shop staffs and customers can become the biggest and they can get in communication very well, and you can see the scene of making teas from the shop entrance at the same time. In addition, we consider that the layout planning of the main counter which is not arranged at right angles to the building structure axes contribute to give feeling free and at ease to the interior space.
We intend to take exterior scenes in the interior space so that we put mirrors on the front surface of the main counter and they always reflect those constantly changing scenes. We tried to interpret the interior space as a continuous part of the exterior, so that the floor finishes are concrete panels which are usually arranged to exterior finish and the entrance sliding doors are leaved open while the shop is opened. As a result, you can feel free to enter while walking around the city.
In conclusion, We achieved opening the kitchen to the city in order to show it as the fascinating display and plan the interior as a continuous part of the exterior.