Project

2023.02　BBCびわこ放送『金曜オモロしが』
2023.02　中日新聞　掲載
2023.04　『Leaf 』2023年6・7月号　掲載
2024.02　人気店舗デザイン年間2024
2024.03　デザイナーズFILE 2024
2025.03　デザイナーズFILE 2025

A pastry store of twin sisters pastry chefs is located in Gokaso, where many traditional buildings have been preserved in Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture.
The street in front of the store is narrow and the site is located in a secluded area.
Even if a sign or other signage were erected, it would not be visible from the larger street.

The appearance and taste of the food itself is of course important.
＋However, when the packaging and the building are combined, there is no longer any need for a conventional sign.

This pastry store is run by twin sisters. Although they look exactly alike at first glance, their voices, facial expressions, the way they walk, and even the details of the pastries they make are different. There is an exquisite balance between being strangers and not being strangers.
This space is an architectural expression of the beauty of "similarity and difference. From the front, it is symmetrical.
However, its interior composition, treatment of materials, and the way light is guided are penetrated with minute asymmetry.
It is as if they are sisters who share the same genes but have developed different personalities, giving the space a sense of becoming imbued with personality.
The entrance is composed of an almost perfect center opening.
At night, when the white exterior walls are lit by neon signs, a symbolic "correctness" emerges.
Once inside, however, the equilibrium is gently disrupted.
The counter is a simple white plaster finish. Behind it appears a deep, dark, and sober blue wall
. Blue is a color that symbolizes the "fundamental sensibility" shared by the sisters.
The wooden louvers floating above the blue appear to be aligned on either side, but the slightly swung angles and shadows create an asymmetrical rhythm.
Although the ceiling appears to be of equal height, the way the lighting falls and the way the light stays differs.
As a result, the center of gravity of the space shifts slightly, despite having the same compositional elements.
This is the source of the store's sway and intimacy.
The confections in the showcase are also like jewels, born from the "similar but different" hands of the sisters.
While their forms are similar, their decorations and flavor designs are subtly different, and their philosophies can be seen in the way they choose their ingredients.
Architecture is both "a device to highlight the individuality" of these confections and "a container for their commonality.
The space composed by white walls, blue background, and wooden trails highlights the forms of the confectioneries and
coexists "visual serenity and exuberance".
This is not mere interior design. The entire space is constructed like a cake, with layers and compositions, margins and saturation.
The glass-fronted facade releases soft natural light during the day and confectionery lighting to the outside at night.
Its transparency symbolizes the open personalities of the sisters and their open-minded attitude toward confectionery.
The curtains function as a filter that stops the light for a moment and allows it to flow back in.
Asymmetry like symmetry" is an aesthetic of deliberate displacement while aiming for perfection.
People are not moved by perfection, but by the truth hidden in imperfection.
This space is an attempt to visualize, as architecture, a world in which two such "correctnesses" exist side by side.
The miracle of being twins and the richness of being each other. A place that celebrates both. This is the form of this patisserie.

Design : Akihiko Tonomura (COLOR LABEL DESIGN OFFICE)