The Westin Miyako Kyoto Chapel ᱢᱩᱬ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱱᱟᱶᱟ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Founded 130 years ago, the Westin Miyako Kyoto is an elegant hotel with a proud history nestled into the foothills of the city’s Higashiyama district. The same elegance and quality were essential in this major renovation and earthquake retrofit of the chapel, which occupies a separate building on the hotel property. Intended to express the new spirit of Kyoto, the highly original chapel is able to accommodate the increasingly diverse range of wedding styles sought by contemporary couples, including not only conventional church ceremonies but also Shinto and non-religious ceremonies.

Dimensions & Packaging

We were asked to create a new space without altering the building’s existing framework. Because this condition ruled out the installation of skylights, we used artificial lighting to replicate the appearance of natural light. Regulations required that the wooden latticework on the ceiling and walls be semi-fireproof, so we used fire retardant lumber.

Tags

Chapel Renovation, Chapel design,

Production Technology

We strengthened the connection with the woods behind the building by redesigning the windows to remove mullions and increase transparency, as well as by shining a sunny light on the natural-stone wall in order to bring the exterior space into the interior. We valued the atmosphere created by materials themselves, expressing the contrast between delicacy and strength through the use of stained, fire-proofed cedar woods and unpolished granite from the mountains of Shodoshima.

Design Challenge

The construction plans and specifications taking up most effort in the project is the lighting design and form and density (spacing) of the ceiling lattice, which together replicate light shining between trees, the building’s most distinctive characteristic. The wooden louvers on the walls create a sense of depth and rhythm, both tying the entire space together by linking to the ceiling lattice and ensuring the high quality, serene reverberations required in a chapel.

Research

Founded 130 years ago, the Westin Miyako Kyoto is an elegant hotel with a proud history nestled into the foothills of the city’s Higashiyama district; the present main building and Kasui-en Annex were both designed by Togo Murano and completed in 1960 and 1959 respectively. The same elegance and quality were essential in this major renovation and earthquake retrofit of the chapel, which occupies a separate building on the hotel property.

Inspiration

As a show of respect to the abundant natural surroundings, rock and wood take center stage in this sacred space imbued with a traditional Japanese aesthetic. we utilized as much of the existing framework as possible while also incorporating elements of traditional shrine and temple architecture, adding a wooden ceiling lattice interwoven with indirect lighting that evokes sunlight pouring through the branches of trees and highlights the beauty of the shadows and gradations that are created as light falls through the multi-layered lattice.

Project Duration

Location, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Renovation Area, 237m2
The project started in April 2019 in Kyoto and finished in April, 2020

Image Credits

WMH_1.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020
WMH_2.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020
WMH_3.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020
WMH_4.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020
WMH_5.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020