Sento, or Japanese public bathhouses, have been a long-time favorite communal gathering place where people feel a sense of connection to their communities. Now that 95% of households in Japan own private bathrooms, many sento have been forced to close due to a shrinking customer base, even though there are a certain number of long-time fans. In such a situation, Koganeyu boldly decided to renovate the existing bathhouse and continue its operations, and we were commissioned to undertake the renovation. Before the renovation, they had been using scrap wood to boil water. In renovating the building, we decided to use gas to boil water in consideration of global warming, which allowed us to expand the bath areas by eliminating the boiler room and other facilities and to create a sauna, a water bath, and a space for outdoor air bathing that will serve as a place to connect people and the modern community. The existing laundromat was moved to a different location and replaced by a new beer bar, aiming to create a place where young couples and friends can gather after work and form a new community. In terms of design, we paid attention to the separating wall between men's and women's bath areas, which has an opening between the top of the wall and the ceiling. It is a common architectural element in sento all over Japan, and the opening at the top is said to be a reminder of the days when men and women used to bathe together in public baths. Needless to say, it would be structurally more stable and easier to build a full-height wall, but it seems we Japanese still unconsciously have an affinity for the wall with an opening at the top. Paying homage to our beloved open top wall, we decided to use the wall height line at 2250mm above floor level as a reference axis for our design and placed different materials above and below the axis. Specifically, components below the 2250mm-line are made of materials in soft light beige, and components above the 2250mm-line are made of concrete and other materials that harmonize with the exposed structural frames. In addition, we asked collaborating artists to create art works that transcend boundaries between males and females under the theme "sending one's heart to someone." We asked Yoriko Hoshi to paint a mural of Mount Fuji spanning the entire width of both bath areas, which is another traditional element of Japanese sento. She painted various scenes of a story transcending boundaries between males and females, set against a backdrop of Mount Fuji in the style of a picture scroll. The mural cannot be seen in its entirety from the men's and women's bath areas. We asked Iichiro Tanaka to design noren (split curtain) installed in men's and women's changing rooms. He used an expression "Oi!" (Hey!), which have been exchanged between men and women over the separating wall for a long time, to convey the feeling of sending one's heart to someone on the other side of the wall. We made a long handrail going over the wall from one side to the other so that men and women, while they cannot see each other, can hold on to the same handrail and send their hearts to someone on the other side of the wall. The wall disappears at the bandai (reception counter)area, where the top of the light beige-colored area is lowered from 2250mm to 1150mm above floor level to align with the countertop. A beer bar is installed there as a place for men and women to enjoy good conversations under glass lanterns. We hope that its soft glow will illuminate customers' little luxury moments and celebrate the new community.