Riverside Villa at Kyoto by Atelier BORONSKI

ByJon Dykstra Houses

Image of Riverside Villa with a straightforward design.

About Atelier BORONSKI

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Atelier BORONSKI is a bilingual design office based in Kyoto and directed by a New Zealand-born architect educated in both New Zealand and Japan. They are developing a strong and fluid design vocabulary across a diverse range of building types, generating elegant, durable, and dramatic buildings. Significant research and analysis are brought to bear on every project, often in collaboration. Evocative materials, intelligent engineering, and environmentally sensitive strategies are all employed to bring our designs to life.

Behind the large timber gates, which are visible from the street, is a private courtyard that is manicured with both young and mature trees.
Behind the large timber gates, which are visible from the street, is a private courtyard that is manicured with both young and mature trees.
Living and dining areas are combined into one spacious open space with windows on both sides.
Living and dining areas are combined into one spacious open space with windows on both sides.
The paintings are applied directly to the walls.
The paintings are applied directly to the walls.
Raw steel is used for the handrails and staircases.
Raw steel is used for the handrails and staircases.
The residence can see the cave paintings from the twenty-first century.
The residents can see the cave paintings from the twenty-first century.
The main bedroom is on the second level of this house, which has a relatively straightforward layout.
The main bedroom is on the second level of this house, which has a relatively straightforward layout.
The decor is simple, low-maintenance, and masculine.
The decor is simple, low-maintenance, and masculine.
The study room has dim lighting and is adjacent to the restroom.
The study room has dim lighting and is adjacent to the restroom.
The restrooms are glassed-in, and the river-facing North facade is entirely made of glass.
The restrooms are glassed-in, and the river-facing North facade is entirely made of glass.
Because of the bathroom's layout, privacy is less of an issue in this house.
Because of the bathroom’s layout, privacy is less of an issue in this house.
The roof garden above is accessible through the glass roof hatch.
The roof garden above is accessible through the glass roof hatch.

This home has a very simple layout -the first floor is mostly the guest area, the second floor has the main bedroom area and the third floor has the Living / Dining area in one large open volume with glazing at both ends. The glazed roof hatch opens to the roof garden above…From the street, there is a private courtyard behind the broad timber gates, landscaped with young and old trees.

The fireproof timber siding has been stained individually to create an elegant but understated street facade, contrasted with the angular galvanized steel work. The interior is stripped back and low-maintenance, masculine. The ceilings are exposed steel form-work, and the floors are exposed concrete as are the benches and basins.

The stairs and handrails are raw steel. Standard elements of the ‘domestic cosmetic’ are absent. The bathrooms are glazed, and the North facade (facing the river) is all glass – privacy is not so sacred in this house. The artworks are painted straight on the walls (and windows) by local artists commissioned directly by the client.

They loved the idea of 21st-century cave drawings…. For the foreign clients, this was a kind of turn-key project, with the architects involved in many of the steps such as site selection and purchase, setting up accounts for utilities, and buying white-ware and furniture, etc etc. (They said it was actually easier for them to build in Japan than in California…)

By Jon Dykstra · See their LinkedIn.