{"id":17265,"date":"2026-05-05T07:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17265\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T07:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:30:13","slug":"traditional-townhouses-inform-interiors-of-capella-kyoto-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17265\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional townhouses inform interiors of Capella Kyoto hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unique “rhythm and progression” of Japanese machiya townhouses helped Brewin Design Office devise the interiors of this hotel<\/a> in Kyoto<\/a> designed by Kengo Kuma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Capella Kyoto<\/a> hotel was built by Kengo Kuma and Associates<\/a> on the grounds of an old primary school in Gion, a historic district of the city that’s home to a number of traditional wooden townhouses known as machiya.<\/p>\n

\"CapellaThe Capella Kyoto building was designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates<\/p>\n

Machiya typically have a deep yet narrow footprint with a small shop at the front and living spaces nestled further towards the back, interspersed by gardens or courtyards.<\/p>\n

Inspired by this layout, Singapore-based firm Brewin Design Office<\/a> (BDO) decided to give the hotel’s interior a similarly staggered composition.<\/p>\n

\"CapellaBrewin Design Office took charge of the interiors<\/p>\n

Guests enter the hotel via a lengthy walkway flanked by shoji screens, eventually coming to a wood-lined reception lobby. From one wall protrudes a large, twisted sculpture that’s meant to resemble shimenawa \u2013 a kind of rope that’s used in Shinto purification rituals.<\/p>\n

Just beyond is an expansive courtyard that’s meant to be the nucleus of the hotel; at its centre is a shallow pond, fringed by rocks and some trees.<\/p>\n

\"CapellaAt the heart of the hotel is a tranquil courtyard centred by a pond<\/p>\n

“What is compelling about the machiya is that its characteristics are not isolated ideas, but part of a coherent spatial logic,” BDO founder Robert Cheng told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“We were particularly inspired by the machiya’s sense of rhythm and progression, expressed through a sequence of spaces that transition from more public, open areas into increasingly private and contemplative zones.”<\/p>\n

\"CapellaLattice screens enclose the communal living room<\/p>\n

“Rather than a direct entry into reception, we designed the arrival to extend through layered thresholds \u2013 screens, vestibules, and controlled sightlines \u2013 to reveal the space gradually,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“This introduces moments of pause, allowing the transition from city to interior to slow and settle.”<\/p>\n

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Astet Studio references Tokyo izakayas at Mitsu restaurant in London\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

In the hotel’s communal spaces, BDO implemented features it felt were synonymous with machiya and Kyoto craftsmanship, from hand-washed plaster walls to timber joinery and delicate woven textures.<\/p>\n

“Working in Kyoto was both a privilege and an enriching experience,” explained Cheng. “It is a city where history is not preserved as a static artefact but actively lived and practiced in everyday life.”<\/p>\n

“This presented both an opportunity and a responsibility \u2013 to design something contemporary while being respectful of the cultural context and heritage.”<\/p>\n

\"CapellaFrench brasserie Lanterne is one of three restaurants on site<\/p>\n

Capella Kyoto’s guest lounge is boxed in by latticed screens so that, once lights are switched on within, the room mimics the appearance of a Japanese andon lantern.<\/p>\n

Guests also have the option of dining at three different restaurants. Sonoma features a regional menu and open kitchen, while Yoi is a more casual late-night venue decked out in reclaimed wood from the school that once stood on site.<\/p>\n

Finally, there’s Lanterne, a French brasserie that’s been finished with elements BDO thought were distinctly Parisian, including marble columns and herringbone floors.<\/p>\n

\"CapellaThere’s also Yoi, a late-night eatery decorated with reclaimed materials<\/p>\n

Wood-lined surfaces and shoji screens continue to appear throughout the hotel’s 89 bedrooms, most of which have views of the nearby Kaburenjo Theatre or Kennin-ji, the oldest Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto.<\/p>\n

Six suites were given their own soaking tub in a nod to Japanese onsen hot springs.<\/p>\n

\"CapellaGuest rooms offer views over local landmarks<\/p>\n

Last year, Kengo Kuma and Associates completed another Kyoto hotel called Banyan Tree.<\/p>\n

Nestled in the foothills of the city’s easterly Higashiyama mountains, the lush site includes stepped gardens, a bamboo grove, and a timber-skeleton stage<\/a> dedicated to the Japanese theatrical art form of Noh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The unique “rhythm and progression” of Japanese machiya townhouses helped Brewin Design Office devise the interiors of this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3392,8,508,151,3516,7073],"class_list":{"0":"post-17265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kyoto","8":"tag-hotels","9":"tag-japan","10":"tag-kengo-kuma","11":"tag-kyoto","12":"tag-sectionall","13":"tag-sectioninteriors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}