House & Restaurant
200best ES
Junya Ishigami + Associates
2022
Type
Restaurant
Tags
suburban houses, places to eat out, 200Best, underground, material processes, remembering the cave
Visitability
Allowed
Description
Ishigami was commissioned by a friend. He wanted a house that would also be a restaurant, and a place that looked as if it had always been there. The Japanese architect solved this unusual programme by hollowing out the land. The first excavation was carried out manually. Instead of creating the living space, he defined the negative, the mould that serves as a natural formwork for the concrete. Once the concrete had set, the ground was poured. A cavernous space was discovered that evokes animal burrows and connects with the origin of the human habitat. The earth texture of the walls was an unexpected discovery: the initial idea was to clean it to leave the concrete exposed. But it was decided that this earthy texture reinforced the organic and cavernous idea of the space. This decision speaks to the character of the work, halfway between the highest technology (used to define a very complex geometry by means of mass models) with a form of construction that incorporates handcrafted elements. The different living spaces are fluidly connected, illuminated by interior courtyards and through the perimeter. The boundary between the restaurant and the dwelling is blurred. The climatically conditioned space is defined by glass that tries to be as unnoticed as possible. The restaurant's customers have the sensation of being the lucky guests in a mysterious and fascinating place. The dreams of the architect's friend have certainly been fulfilled.