Don Pippo Italian Café｜e do design architects

In Minamimachi, Mito City, the Italian restaurant "Don Pippo" (Don Pippo) — renowned for its authentic kiln-baked pizza — closed its long-loved Minamachi location, was newly constructed and relocated to Shinsho, and reopened as a renewed venue where customers can enjoy a café and lunch.

Although there is no pizza oven in the new location, fresh pasta is available as before.

On entering the shop, a courtyard is visible straight ahead, providing a sense of openness and brightness. A sloped ceiling and clerestory (high-side) windows further enhance the feeling of openness.

The owner, who studied vocal music, not only manages the shop but also offers singing lessons and opera lectures; a grand piano has been installed in the new premises so that music can be enjoyed. Separate from the main dining area, there is a private dining room that contains an upright piano. In addition, careful attention was paid to the thermal environment, and a water thermal storage system, "AquaLayer" (Izena), was adopted.

Elements from the previous restaurant were reused: the seat surfaces of the old dining chairs were reupholstered and reused, and the bracket lights were relocated. A large log column was also repurposed as a duct cover to deliver cool air from the underfloor.

We hope that both long-standing patrons and new customers will be able to spend enjoyable and delicious times in the new restaurant, which retains traces of the old store.

Building Overview

Site area: 330.58 m² (99.8 tsubo)
Building footprint (building area): 108.04 m² (32.6 tsubo)
Total floor area: 101.86 m² (30.8 tsubo)
Zoning: Category II Residential Zone
Structure: Conventional wooden construction
Scale: Single-storey
Use: Restaurant
Structural design: Masuda Structural Planning — Hiroyuki Masuda
Construction: Ohnuki Co., Ltd.