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Meditation atelier
Water Courtyard
A small atelier for a calligrapher, arranged around a shallow pool that holds the evening light.
Year
2023
Location
Kyoto, Japan
Area
220 m²
Status
Completed
The project
Photography — Studio archive
The courtyard
The building is a ring of four rooms around a pool 18 centimetres deep. The water is kept perfectly still, so the stone walls and the sky above them appear twice.
Every room opens to the courtyard, and none opens to the street. Sound from the neighbourhood drops away after the second door.
Light
Roof overhangs are set so that direct sun never reaches the paper on the work tables, while the pool throws soft reflected light onto the ceilings through the afternoon.


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