LOKO GALLERY / CAFE - MOMENT Inc.

"Understory"

Designed by MOMENT and completed in 2015, LOKO GALLERY Daikanyama features a skip-floor architectural composition where exhibition rooms coexist with a café, creating a space that brings contemporary art closer to visitors. Six years after its completion, plans were made to partially renovate the café and add a new multi-purpose space in the basement. The design concept for these updates was “Expansion of Art.” On the first floor, the white walls of the exhibition room extend seamlessly into the café, blurring the boundaries between the two and expanding the exhibition space within the café.　The skip-floor layout was originally adopted to create a continuous spatial flow, preventing any interruption between floors, and to foster close interaction between the exhibition room and café, which are separated only by a single glass pane. This seamless spatial design enables artists to express themselves freely beyond the conventional boundaries of exhibition rooms and offers visitors the luxurious experience of enjoying coffee and art simultaneously.　The newly added basement multi-purpose space follows the original design intent, functioning as a café seating area in daily use while accommodating diverse uses such as art exhibitions, talk events, and presentations, without limiting its purposes.　The interior features a black persimmon-colored plaster finish, evoking a calm atmosphere that feels as if one is descending deeply underground. The floor is made of "Tataki", a traditional Kyoto earthen floor made by compacting soil by hand, creating natural irregularities that enhance comfort while transforming the typically negative impression of basement spaces into a quietly profound texture. Two movable walls allow flexible layout and exhibition arrangements.　The open kitchen supports the preparation of light meals and food-related events, while a 3.5-meter-wide sliding island counter serves dual functions as both a display table and a café counter.　Contrasting with the stark white exhibition rooms, this space enhances connections between food and art as well as the expansion of exhibitions, extending art’s presence seamlessly into everyday life.