CHALLE is a cafe based on the concept of fusion of Japan and Mexico, serving coffee, tacos and churros.

Instead of an orthodox Mexican image, we imagined a fusion of modern Mexico and Japanese-ness.

The café reuses old wooden houses without dismantling them, leaving most of the pillars, beams, and other structural elements.

The deep red paint, a mixture of persimmon tannin and benjira, applied to all ceilings, walls, pillars, and beams, gives the space a unique depth, blending the historical architecture of Japan with the atmosphere of Mexico.

Since old Japanese wooden houses have low ceilings, we removed the feeling of oppression from the first floor by creating a central atrium. The visual continuity created by the atrium encourages interactive communication between the first floor counter and the second floor seating area.

The floorboards on the second floor that were removed to create the atrium were reused and affixed to the sides of the atrium.

In addition, some of the removed columns were converted to benches and shelves on the first floor, and the cornerstones of the columns were used as foundations for the benches, which I believe is not mere sustainabilty, but a reincarnation of architectural memory into a new function.

The floor of the first floor is covered with original tiles designed for this café in a particular pattern. The tiles were selected from the type of clay and the color of the glaze by a ceramics studio.

For the lighting plan, instead of installing light fixtures on the ceiling, original lighting was installed on the pillars, creating a unique atmosphere with light shining on the deep red painted ceiling and walls.

The stools on the second floor are originals made by slightly modifying common wood and combining it in various patterns. The surface is strengthened by searing it with a burner. This is an application of yakisugi, which has been used for the exterior walls of Japanese wooden houses since ancient times. By searing the wood, the surface is strengthened to withstand ultraviolet rays and wind and rain.

Cowhide is used for the waist of the counter on the first floor and for the counter tops on the second floor. Cowhide is a sustainable material that reuses cow hides for meat, and we expect that the more it is used, the more it will develop its flavor.

In Kyoto, it is recommended that historic wooden houses called “Kyomachiya” be renovated and reused in order to preserve them.

This project is not simply a preservation of a historical building, but a space where tradition and innovation, past and present, Japan and Mexico intersect, presenting new possibilities for sustainable architecture in the modern age.