This project involved the renovation of a 90-year-old machiya (townhouse) in Otsu, which flourished as the largest post town on the Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido Highway and still retains many machiya and nationally registered tangible cultural properties. The house was rebuilt as a branch and showroom of a local construction company by reducing the size of the building but retaining its framework and reinforcing it against earthquakes through the use of threading, new pillars, and root joints. The earthquake-resistant walls made of pass-throughs also allow for a view from the shopping street.

Japan | Shiga

Shinkenchiku April 2018 issue 146P