直到一段时间前，据说在清町大街这块50平方米的土地上有12家酒吧，分布在三栋两层楼的房子里，毗邻京都最错综复杂的夜巷网络之一–蓬头町，在那里，酒吧、妓院、旅馆、住宅、商店的活力混合，几个世纪以来创造了京都夜生活的基本城市氛围。这里有一家不显眼的高端餐厅，旁边是一家（视觉上不那么微妙的）廉价烤肉店，在最狭窄的小巷尽头有一家隐秘的旅馆，横跨一个神秘的地方，需要勇气才能进入，在这里的任何散步都会带来最终的惊喜。
Until some time ago, there were, as we were told, 12 bars spread over three 2-storey houses on this 50 m2 plot on Kiyamachidori, adjacent to one of Kyoto’s most intricate network of night alleys, Pontocho, where a vibrant mixture of bars, brothels, inns, dwellings, shops have for centuries created an urban atmosphere of essential Kyoto nightlife. With an unobtrusive high-end restaurant next to a (visually less subtle) cheap yakitori, with a hidden gem of a ryokan at the end of the narrowest of side-alleys across an enigmatic place commanding courage to enter, any walk here leads to eventual surprises.
由于蓬头町的东部面向京都的主要河流鸭川，形成了独特的风景，几个世纪以来，城市法规不允许这一地区有太大的变化。它仍然是由小而低的房屋组成的结构。在西边，清岩町与蓬莱阁的主干线平行。在这里，随着时间的推移，法规已经松动，形成了一系列不拘一格的建筑，最高可达6层楼。K8是在一个狭窄的地方，坐落在两座这样的高楼之间，代表着该地区被宣布为开放的边界，快速的资金被投入到建立（最多）不伦不类的平庸的日子。
As the eastern part of Pontocho looks onto Kamogawa, Kyoto’s major river, creating a unique scenery, urban regulations have not allowed this area to change much for centuries: It is still a fabric of small, low houses. To the west, Kiyamchidori runs parallel to Pontocho’s main spine. Here, regulations have loosened over time resulting in an eclectic array of buildings up to six storeys tall. K8 is on a narrow site perched between two such tall buildings representing the days when the area was declared open frontier and quick money was put in erecting (at best) nondescript mediocrity.
当Pontocho被体验为一连串的水平接触时，K8是将这种体验转化为垂直的。在放弃了无处不在的电梯–作为一个穿透不相关层的隐蔽的管子–分隔以及连接，K8实际上是一个连贯的、持续变化的空间，延伸到八个层面。在这里，夜晚是一个逐渐变化的过程，从底层的开胃酒到顶层的消化酒，俯瞰浮桥和加茂川，楼梯连接着多样性的中间地带。
Where Pontocho is experienced as a horizontal sequence of encounters, K8 is the translation of that experience into the vertical. In foregoing the ubiquitous elevator, which –being a secluded tube penetrating unrelated layers– divides as much as it connects, K8 is in fact one coherent, continuously varying space stretching over eight levels. Here, the evening evolves as a gradually changing course of events, from aperitif on ground level to digestif on the top overlooking Pontocho towards Kamogawa, the staircase linking a diversity of in-betweens.
作为一个同质但不断变化的表面，外墙创造了京都建筑中经常出现的模糊性。通过逐渐的旋转，几百个木制百叶窗唤起了一种运动感，就好像建筑本身在不断地与环境接触。该建筑的内部更多的是被隐藏起来，而不是暴露出来。面对这栋建筑，人们对这栋建筑有多少层或多深没有一个准确的答案。朝向两侧，百叶窗被旋转到一定程度，它们几乎看起来是一堵坚实的墙，尽管有细微差别。在中间位置，不同程度的透明度为内部提供了微妙的提示。走过的时候，外墙会进一步动起来，就像建筑本身在路过的人身边移动，通过揭示不同深度的内部一瞥来吸引他们。
As a homogeneous yet continuously changing surface, the façade creates an ambiguity often found in Kyoto’s architecture. Through their gradual rotations, several hundred wooden louvers evoke a sense of motion, as if the building itself were continuously engaging with its environment. The building’s interior is more concealed than revealed. Facing the building, one is left without a precise answer as to how many floors or how deep the building might be. Towards the sides, the louvers are rotated to a degree that they almost appear to be a solid, albeit nuanced, wall. Towards the middle, varying degrees of transparency give subtle hints about the inside. Walking by further sets the façade in motion, as if the building itself were moving around those who pass by, engaging them by revealing glimpses of the inside in varying depths.
Architects: Florian Busch Architects
Area: 156 m²
Year: 2015
Photographs: Nacása & Partners
Contractor: Mugishima Corp.
Structural Engineering: OAK, Masato Araya, Tomonori Kawata
FBA:Florian Busch, Sachiko Miyazaki, Suguru Takahashi, Akira Miyamoto, Antoine Vaxelaire, Renee Reder, Oliver Pershav, Katie Colford, Shiori Sageshima, Anne-Marlene Rüede, Kayo Nakamura
City:Shimogyo Ward
Country:Japan