Keiji Ashizawa

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      Keiji Ashizawa uses “rough materials” to create cosy restaurant interior

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      Wood-wool cement-board walls and concrete tabletops feature in this Tokyo restaurant interior by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa.Located a few minutes walk from Kawaguchi station in one of Tokyo’s largest commuter towns, Grillno is a cosy, 26-seat restaurant that serves a menu of smoked and grilled dishes.

      Top image: tables and chairs made from concrete, steel and wood furnish the interior. Above: dim lighting sets the mood
      Built on the second floor of a concrete apartment building, the moodily lit interior features walls made from grey wood wool cement board alongside oak floors and doors.
      An open kitchen with a long concrete counter allows diners to watch the chefs at work as they eat.
      “There are two fundamental inspirations,” said Ashizawa, “the building materials used for the thirty-year-old concrete apartment building and the food ingredients the restaurant uses daily.”

      The textured walls are made from grey wood wool cement board

      The 62-square-metre restaurant only opens in the evening, so guests typically experience the space at sunset or after dark.
      “The space gets some natural daylight from the entrance,” Ashizawa told Dezeen. “The gentle light from the setting sun creates a spectacular atmosphere during the opening hours.”

      A concrete counter stretches along the length of the open kitchen
      The restaurant’s owner is a friend of the Tokyo-based architect, as well as a regular collaborator.
      “Since starting his career as a chef, I have been supporting him with the planning of his restaurants — and enjoying eating what he cooks, of course,” Ashizawa explained.
      “As Grillno is a restaurant specialised in smoked and grilled dishes, we began by planning an open kitchen and a long concrete counter around the kitchen so that people could enjoy watching the chef cook while eating.”

      A suspended steel lamp hovers over the concrete counter
      A thin, long steel suspension lamp hangs above the concrete counter to create an even light for dining.
      “We believe that good restaurants can welcome people in many situations, whether you come by yourself, with your friends and family or for your night out,” continued Ashizawa.
      “To make the most out of the space as possible, we planned different types of seating arrangements.”

      Campana brothers use hollow terracotta blocks for São Paulo Aesop store

      These include the rounded counter, which seats up to 14 diners, alongside two cosy wooden tables for couples that are tucked away in a recess, and three tables that seat up to four people on a mix of chairs and benches.

      Dining tables for couples are placed in a recess
      “With a few rough materials, worked expertly by craftsmen, we tried to achieve a relaxing atmosphere with moments of tension to match the food and hospitality,” explained Ashizawa.
      Incorporating industrial materials that are generally perceived as “rough” into commercial interiors is popular among architects and designers.
      Lisbon-based Inês Brandão has created a kitchen from oriented strand board inside a converted barn home in Portugal, while brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana applied hollow ceramic bricks, typically used to build external walls, in a shop interior for Aesop in Sao Paulo.

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      Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama spotlights natural materials

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      Oak chairs sit amongst paper yarn-wrapped columns within this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama, Japan created by Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects.The Blue Bottle Coffee cafe occupies a glass-front building in Yokohama’s bustling business district, Minatomirai, and looks out across a leafy public park.
      This setting became a key point of reference for Tokyo-based studio Keiji Ashizawa Design, which has exclusively decked out the interiors of the cafe with natural materials.

      Top image: Paper yarn wraps around the cafe’s columns. Above: A curved bar is at the centre of the floor plan
      “We have aimed to create an atmosphere which welcomes the local community by mainly using wood, inspired by the park located by the Blue Bottle Coffee Minatomirai,” said the studio’s eponymous founder, Keiji Ashizawa.

      “The building acts as the main character of the park and provides a feeling of kindness with the natural materials in the industrial-looking landscape.”

      A local park inspired the natural material palette of the cafe
      The open floor plan of the cafe is dominated by a huge half-moon service bar, behind which staff prepare drink orders. Its base is clad with slats of light-hued timber, while its countertop is made from flecked grey stone.
      Pale timber has additionally been used for the cafe’s flooring and its circular tables. Timber also forms smaller decorative elements like the menu board and a couple of oversized, ring-shaped lights that have been suspended from the ceiling.

      Norm Architects designed the seating throughout the cafe
      A series of white, spherical pendant lamps that hang above the cafe’s high counter provide extra light as evening falls.

      Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects pare back Tokyo apartments

      In keeping with the natural material palette, braided paper yarn has been wound around the lower half of the grey support columns that run along the periphery of the room.

      Some of the chairs are upholstered in creamy leather
      Keiji Ashizawa Design asked long-term collaborators, Copenhagen-based practice Norm Architects, to devise a range of seating for the project.
      The practice designed three chair models made from Japanese oak wood: a traditional cafe-style chair, a tall bar stool and a slightly more formal dining chair that’s partially upholstered in creamy leather – its low, curving backrest is meant to draw subtle reference to the cafe’s architecture.

      The frames of the chairs are made from Japanese oak
      All of the pieces were produced by Karimoku Case Study, the sister brand of Japanese manufacturer Karimoku which collaborates with architects across the world to design furnishings.
      Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design had first worked with Karimoku Case Study back in 2019 on the launch of its inaugural Kinuta collection.

      The facade of the cafe is made from glass
      “For us, there couldn’t be a better partner to team up with than Karimoku,” explained Frederik Werner, partner at Norm Architects.
      “They uphold a unique quality and approach to the manufacturing of wooden furniture, maintaining a focus on the craftsmanship combined with the latest robotics, making sure that their philosophy of ‘high-tech, high-touch’ is truly embedded in each furniture piece leaving the factory.”

      Customers can spill out onto an outdoor seating area
      This is one of several Blue Bottle Coffee cafes in Japan, with others located in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kobe.
      The coffee brand was founded by James Freeman in 2002, starting out as a small roastery in Oakland, California before growing into a network of cafes across the US and Asia.
      Last year saw Blue Bottle Coffee open its first branch in South Korea, which was designed by Schemata Architects. The cafe is situated in the artsy neighbourhood of Seongsu and features sparse interiors dotted with timber furniture and red-brick display plinths.
      Photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
      Project credits:
      Design: Keiji Ashizawa & Norm ArchitectsConstruction: #TankFurniture: Karimoku Case Study

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      Tree rises up through centre of House in Yoga by Keiji Ashizawa Design

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      A greenery-filled courtyard lies at the heart of this home that Keiji Ashizawa Design has created for a family of five in Tokyo’s Yoga neighbourhood. Located just outside of the bustling, shop-lined streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, House in Yoga is designed to let its inhabitants experience the outdoors in an urban context. The house, […] More