ARCHIEE fuses japanese and french styles in maison wa cultural gallery

ARCHIEE fuses japanese and french in maison wa cultural gallery
all images courtesy of takeshi miyamoto

‘maison wa’ is a japanese cultural gallery located in paris, france. designed by yusuke kinoshita and daisuke sekine of paris-based ARCHIEE, the concept couples japanese spirit with french manner. the approach is clear and simple, following traditional japanese sensibilities such as minimalism and flexible spatial composition.

event space

the tie-back to paris is slightly more hidden, requiring an observant eye to notice. at a glance, ‘maison wa’ seems to be nothing more than a pure white space. however, upon closer inspection, a plethora of textural qualities can be found. influenced by observations made in the city, a rich vocabulary of new and original materials are placed side by side throughout. textures including: cypress patterns in concrete moldings, cracked cement, plaster block, oak, bamboo, steel, copper, etc are all present.

façade

‘maison wa’ is principally defined by four major zones moving from front door backwards: an event space, a gallery, conference room, and storage/utility space. aside from a slight existing floor level difference, the interior is uniform. the rear conference room is the most altered section of the plan, and features heavy use of copper to make the once-gloomy space more illuminated.

zones, as seen from entrance 

the project is an exercise in fusion that carries over into the name itself. in french, ‘maison’ means home, and in japanese ‘wa’ has the dual meaning of japan and harmony. together, the words are simultaneously translatable to japanese house, or home of harmony. thus, the expression succinctly captures the foremost expression intended in the design and process. 

conference room doors 

illuminated conference room

details of copper 

event space and counter

store entrance 

interior wall

texture composition 

axonometric

project info:

client: maison wa
area: 158.6m²
design: archiee — yusuke sinoshita, daisuke sekine
photography: takeshi miyamoto

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom