The project is situated in Kyoto, Japan. The site has a very particular condition: it faces Pontocho Alley and faces the Kamo River.

The project responds to these two very different conditions. One side responds to the scale and the rhythm of Pontocho Alley while the other responds to the river: grand, civic, horizontal.

The many different processes related to brewing sake are displayed towards Pontocho Alley and the long horizontal volume that faces the river is designed to be the Restaurant/Tasting Bar. The project aims to, in a way, repeat what is already there in Pontocho Alley - sequence, transition, hidden vs. shown, and ultimately, respond to the senses of Kyoto.