Type:Bakery and Restaurant/Location:Karuizawa,Nagano,Japan/Design:2012-14/Construction:2014-15/Consultant:Low Fat Structure,NCN,Comodo,bews,honda GREEN/Structure:Timber,Steel/Contractor:Takehanagumi/Site area:2605m2/Built area:658m2/Total floor area:660m2

ベーカリー&レストラン沢村は長野県軽井沢町、旧軽井沢の入口にあたるロータリーの南西に位置する延床面積約200坪木造2階建ての建物。クライアントは国内外に飲食店舗を展開しているが、敷地と道路を挟んだ東側の店舗が創業の地であり、このエリアの活性化(散策できる)を目指して他にも関連店舗を増やしてきた。今回はそのロータリー側から見たときの自然な佇まいやこのエリアの拠点となることが求められた。敷地は東側と南側の二面が道路ではあるが20m級の樹木に囲まれ西側には小川も流れる。そんな自然豊かなこの環境を享受できるよう、建物の南北に設けられた外階段から繋がる2階レベルのシークエンスを意識した屋外回廊(Forest Walk)が内部や外部と関わりながら建物をぐるりと廻る。平面計画はベーカリー売場を中心に南側にはパン工房とライブラリーカフェのベーカリーエリア、北側には大きな吹き抜け空間をもつレストランエリアに分けられる。これらのエリアは2階のブリッジでも結ばれ、利用形態の変化にも対応できるフレキシブルな計画。また外部においてはForest Walkを軸に高さやパーゴラなどによって、内部においては天高の変化や吹抜け空間などが多様な空間特性をつくりだしている。外観は高さをおさえた勾配屋根と、長野県産材であるカラマツの外壁で周囲に溶け込むような佇まいを目指している。

The site is in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan. Karuizawa is a very popular place as a mountain resort and for weekend houses. The site is 2605 m2 and situated south-western side of the roundabout at the entrance of the old town. It is a two-story bakery and restaurant. The client has been running restaurants inside and outside of Japan, and their original business site is located just across the street from the site. They have been expanding their business in search of revitalisation of the region. We were asked to come up with a plan that would not only represent the beautiful nature of the local region but also works as a centre of this district. The place was approachable both from the eastern and southern side of it, however it was surrounded by 20-metre-high trees and there was even a stream running to the west. In order to enjoy such an environment, we conceived of a design with an outside staircase, so called the Forest Walk, that extends from south to north. This Forest Walk goes around the building interacting with the inside and outside and we particularly cared about the sequence from the exterior into the interior. The floor plan consists of a bakery store at the centre of the building, a bakery and library café on the southern side, and a restaurant with high ceiling on the northern part of it. Each part of the building is connected to one another by a bridge on the first floor as well and this allows it to accommodate the possible changes of how this venue would be used in the future. The plan features spaces with various characteristics such as height and pergola, both of which are centering around the Forest Walk, for the exterior, and the parts of ceiling with difference in height to the interior. For the appearance we kept the height of pitched roof reasonably not too high and applied the local Japanese larch to the outer wall, so that building blends in the local environment.