Machiya shopping street.

Level shops along a climbing stone lane.

DioramaIllustratedClayLinework

Preparing your Kyoto machiya…

PerspectiveIsometricPlanElevation

StyleView

Drag to orbit · Scroll to zoomDrag to orbit · Pinch to zoom10 shopfronts · 17.5% rise

MAKE IT YOURS

Shape the shopping hill

Street & frontages

Street lengthmm

Total street risemm

Lane widthmm

Typical shop frontagemm

5 shops on each side; actual frontage 4.80 m. Level floors and eaves step with the hill. The stone lane becomes flat at zero rise.

Timber & shelter

Eaves projectionmm

Show tiled roofsMain roofs and projecting shop eaves

Timber finish

Dark timberCedarWeathered

Shop lifeNoren curtains, lanterns and ceramic displays

Read the pattern

Keep the threshold level. Let each shop meet the climbing lane at its own entrance stone. Narrow frontages make the change of level legible.

Make a sheltered edge. Tiled eaves, kōshi timber lattices and fabric noren give the pedestrian street a close, layered rhythm.

This is a conceptual study inspired by Sanneizaka and Ninenzaka in Higashiyama, rather than a survey of a particular street. Kyoto’s machiya also occur on flat streets.

Sanneizaka preservation district ↗

Explore the deep internal plan

Pattern 16 · Kyoto machiya

Concept study. Dimensions are indicative, not construction drawings.

Explore related patterns

Machiya deep planStep behind the shopfront into the Kyoto townhouse.
Frome high streetCompare the rhythm of shops along a British street.
Dutch townhouseExplore another street made from narrow frontages.

View all patterns