Cafe & Bar Dandelion Chocolate Kyoto

The project is situated in a narrow street in Ichinenzaka near Koenji. The building is designated as a cultural property by the city of Kyoto, thus much of the neighborhood has retained the antique aesthetics of the past. The renovation design revives the atmosphere of the traditional Kyoto architecture while incorporating a casual, open space reminiscent of San Francisco the original location of Dandelion Chocolate.

Cedar wood is a vital material in Japanese architecture. Traditional houses often rely on building materials such as the kamoi, nageshi, mawaribuchi shoji and ranma to be built from cedar trees. Cedar is the main material for this project considering craft chocolate and cedar require authentic craftsmanship and carefully selected natural ingredients, the similarities were used a source of inspiration for the material decision.

By incorporating a modern adaptation of a classical Japanese architectural design, we hope to extend the lifespan of a one hundred year old building by another one hundred years.

Image of ground floor store.

Image of exterior showing traditional Kyoto design.

Image of entrance from exterior courtyard.

Image of ground floor store looking towards courtyard.

Image of ground floor store from entrance.

Image of interior courtyard from bar space.

Image of bar counter made from cedar.

Image of staircase connecting ground level store with second floor seating area.

Image of second floor seating area.

Image of second floor seating area.

Plan drawing of ground floor.

Plan drawing of second floor.

Interior elevation drawing.

Interior elevation drawing.

Image of bar counter from interior courtyard.

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