Project: Tea Room

Location: Kanazawa

Geographic coordinate:  36.5597° N, 136.6520° E

Year: 2019-2021

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Studio: Kengo Kuma & Associates

Role: Architect-Designer

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ABSTRACT

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Located along a historic street of tea shops in Kanazawa, directly facing the celebrated Kenrokuen Garden, this project transforms a traditional tea house into a restaurant and gift shop.

The intervention reinforces the existing timber structure using Sashimono—traditional joinery techniques developed in the snow-heavy Hokuriku region. Wooden frames now traverse the interior, defining a layered spatial sequence shaped by varying degrees of shadow. To strengthen the roof truss, carbon fiber cables—an advanced material developed locally in Ishikawa Prefecture—are discreetly introduced, creating a quiet dialogue between traditional craft and contemporary engineering.

The interior draws inspiration from Kanazawa’s Edo-period samurai residences, where light and darkness were carefully modulated. Finishes and materials are selected to evoke this atmospheric depth, while lamps surfaced with gold leaf punctuate the shadows, recalling the region’s renowned craft heritage. The result is a space where structure, light, and material converge—an architecture that honors its place and past without mimicking it.