A new complex facility called "oniwa" (おにわ) is set to open in 2027 in Ichijoji, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto. Built on the spirit of pursuing "making" on one's own and exploring "making" together with others, oniwa is designed to bring together a diverse community — students, domestic and international creators, traditional craftspeople, local businesses, and community members — all individuals actively working in their own fields, whether in the public or private sector.
oniwa regards each person's creative act, shaped by their own perspective and aesthetic sensibility, as "one's own garden," and the situation that arises from the chain of individual creative acts as a "collective garden." Within oniwa, "aesthetic sensibility" is defined not as something requiring specialized knowledge, but as "the gaze or perspective with which each person feels at ease" and "situations that move the heart." The aim is for each individual to cultivate a state in which "making feels good," through both the individual pursuit of creation and the collaborative exploration of creating together.
Participants in the project include monoya, architect Shin Tomita (Hibi), Yasuhiro Kuraoka (kraft), graphic designer Ryuta Mizusako, documentary photographer Mizuki Kobayashi, project manager Shinpei Sakata (Nue Inc.), editor Moe Nishiyama, creative director Takumi Bando (POWER OF VIEW), and real estate planning firm Kawabata-gumi. The project is being shaped primarily by creators based in Kyoto.
The key visual is designed by graphic designer Kazuki Kobayashi. The visual emerges from creative acts rooted in everyday living spaces — forms collected from daily life are accumulated like a sticker book, and the resulting shapes, arrangements, use of negative space, and interpretations give rise to the final visual.
●INFORMATION
Facility Name: "oniwa"
Opening: 2027 (planned)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oniwa_kyoto
Background
Kyoto is said to have the highest ratio of students to prefectural population in Japan.* Ichijoji, surrounded by numerous universities, holds particular potential for shaping future industry, culture, and environment within Kyoto. oniwa aims to open a space where each individual can feel that "making is enjoyable," fostering the sustainability of culture, the circulation of people, and the growth of local value.
*Ratio of students to prefectural population / 2022
Concept
Photo: Reo Arimoto
Based in Ichijoji, Kyoto, oniwa is an open garden for pursuing the act of "making" individually and exploring "making" together with others. Gathering at oniwa are students, domestic and international creators, traditional craftspeople, local businesses, and community members — individuals actively pursuing their own fields across both public and private sectors. Beyond familiar spaces and well-known domains, the chain of creative acts arising from each person's distinct perspective and aesthetic sensibility aims to produce a state where "making feels comfortable" for each individual, tending the soil for creation.
Architecture Concept
Architecture as Expansion — Ambiguous Boundaries That Never Fully Close
Light pours in, wind passes through, water spreads, and gazes meet. Just as people, plants, and the many different things coexisting there cross physical boundaries, oniwa's architecture takes shape as "ambiguous boundaries." Rather than separating inside from outside, it is created as an entity that never fully closes — possessing a gentle, expansible outline defined by natural elements and external forces.
An Unfinished Space Renewed by the Aesthetic Sensibilities of Its Makers
What the architect creates at oniwa is an unfinished space. Form-makers — furniture designers, product designers, gardeners, fabric designers, ironworkers, and graphic designers — as well as system-makers — community designers, facilitators, and business designers — gather together. As their aesthetic sensibilities intersect, the design of oniwa is updated day by day.
A Situation Born from the Reconstruction of Relationships
The dimensions, materials, and physical combinations that constitute the architecture are freed from fixed concepts and standard formats. The sense of dissonance that arises, combined with the crossing gazes of the makers gathered at the site, generates new seeds of creation. While influenced by the surrounding environment, the relationships that emerge within oniwa continue to transform and evolve.
Team
monoya: Director
Takumi Bando (POWER OF VIEW): Creative Director
Shin Tomita (Hibi): Architectural Design
Yasuhiro Kuraoka (kraft): Architectural Design
Ryuta Mizusako: Content Design
Moe Nishiyama: Concept Development + Editing
Shinpei Sakata (Nue Inc.): Project Manager
Mizuki Kobayashi: Documentary Photography
Veig: Planting Design
