We designed BAKE CHEESE TART, a shop specializing in cheese tarts in an underground shopping mall in Kyoto Station. The station receives an increasing number of domestic and foreign visitors in recent years. It is a starting and ending point of one's travel in Kyoto.

The slightly astringent flavor of green tea and the sweet flavor of cheese tart unexpectedly go well together. They get mixed in one's mouth and create a savory taste. It is like a happy marriage of different personalities. The combination inspired us to create a space where people from the world stop by and meet each other.

Kamado is a traditional cooking stove used in historical machiya in Kyoto, rarely seen today. It consists of a smoothly plastered sculptural shape with several holes, evoking one's nostalgic longing for traditional Japanese dishes and a cozy atmosphere in the kitchen. The shop counter was inspired by kamado. The sinuous and stretched form is designed to accommodate various functions including merchandise display, point of sale, mizuya, and charo. The gigantic kamado sits at the center and its rounded base merges into doma (earthen floor), organically integrating people around it. We call it "kamado obake" ("obake" means monster).
People from the world gather around "kamado obake" and share cozy moments like a multigenerational family in good old days, or enjoy a special feeling of exaltation like neighbors gathered around a community kitchen preparing for a festival.