MÉMÉ
A renovation project which converted a house built In the late 1970s into cafe/gallery. The town was also developed in 1970s, however the surrounding area has not been developed and natural environment remains.
The owner of the cafe/gallery has intensive respect for materials and serving real espresso and baked sweets. Along her philosophy, we aimed to affirm elements which the 40-years-old house has.
Structure had been covered by ceilings and inner walls since the house was built. So we chose to remove the unnecessary ceilings and walls and expand openings which are facing garden and a pond.
Exterior skin of the house was damaged and deteriorated with time, rain and wind. There were even some leaks on the wall. So we washed, caulked and painted the walls. The roof was painted by thermal insulation coating in order to soften direct sunlight.
The mono-colored exterior skin gives the cafe/gallery unique character and it stands out from surroundings.
As a result, the cafe/gallery is in slightly different atmosphere from usual house, ordinary cafe or gallery. Because there are some subtle transitions of scale, materials and mixture of old and new.












