Hanafarm Kitchen｜Mitsuhiro Kojima Architects

A short distance from this site, expansive fields and farmlands stretch out. Here, the owner and their family cultivate vegetables with a strong commitment to flavor, variety, and cultivation methods. This restaurant, "Hanafarm Kitchen," was born to offer the inherent deliciousness of these vegetables through cooking methods that make the most of the ingredients.

I visited their fields to learn about the vegetables carefully grown through the interplay of their hands and the soil. These vegetables are then further prepared and carried with heartfelt care to the tables awaiting customers. I focused on these warm, heartfelt "hands."

First, we created an enclosure that gently embraces the guests like a hand. Some elements were designed to evoke the image of fingers closed together, while others incorporated gaps between the fingers. The reddish light filters through these gaps like sunlight shining through a palm, creating a sense of warmth. In this way, we aimed to express the "warmth" they cultivate.

Specifically, five box-like seating areas were arranged with intentional spacing and orientation. By lifting the center of each box, the design evokes a sense of expansion from the outside and a reassuring enclosure from within. Except for the entrance and counter seating, the boxes feature louvers to soften their outlines, with varying spacing offset from adjacent louvers. This approach subtly reduces privacy, allowing the overlapping gestures of occupants to manifest changes in spatial "connectivity" and "depth."

The lively atmosphere that emerges within this integrally connected space gently transmits to other lively areas. The "soft contours" created by the louvers convey vibrancy while gradually directing attention back to one’s own conviviality. Thus, a comfortable setting was created, reminiscent of enjoying lunch in the dappled shade of a forest with sunlight streaming in.