Skip To Main Content
Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

Order Issue

A Product of

Hidden Oasis
AccommodationEditorial Team

Hidden Oasis

Australia

Isaac Leung discovers that an unassuming sandstone façade hints at an unexpected cultural gem at Ryokan Gojyuan.


Found on Darling Street in the inner-city suburb of Balmain, Ryokan Gojyuan is the only traditional Japanese inn in Sydney. To step in through the doorway is to enter a separate cultural dimension, one dreamed of, designed, and executed by the proprietors, Linda Evans and her husband, over a period of 7 years.

ryokan_gojyuan_41

At the reception area, the original sandstone walls, restored after decades spent slumbering beneath plaster and concrete, coexist with tatami rice straw mats, cedar and shoji paper screens.

ryokan_gojyuan_1

The blend of materials, both complementary and contrasting in colours and textures, bespeaks a balance between the historical elements of the Australian family home, while adhering to an authentic Japanese aesthetic approach.

ryokan_gojyuan_37
From the traditional Japanese genkan entryway, a visitor sees, beyond the foyer area, a glimpse of the first of three gardens, and a wooden walkway floating over ryokan_gojyuan_23

Dark-stained wood echoes the soot-dyed timber of historical Japanese buildings. Though styled in the Japanese tradition, the materials are local: the floor boards are Sydney blue gum, while the sliding doors and window frames are crafted from old cedar recovered from the walls of a house in Mosman.

ryokan_gojyuan_26

The staggered layout of the buildings, based heavily on the 8-tatami mat size of each guest room, ensures every turn of the corner on the walkway reveals something new. As guests venture deeper, sandstone gives way to Japanese style rock work, bamboo and hidden gardens. The noise from the street fades.

ryokan_gojyuan_31

The sound of flowing water leads to a Japanese-style bath-house, signified by the traditional noren fabric in its doorway. Within, the genuine hinoki cypress bath is set in stark contrast against the black slate walls and floor, suffusing the space with a woody fragrance.

ryokan_gojyuan_35

The final corner turned culminates in the arrival at one of two guest rooms, the cultural heart of the ryokan. Delicately patterned shoji doors slide away to reveal authentic tatami mat flooring, and a traditional tokonoma alcove. Modern comforts like a contemporary en suite are hidden behind intricate fusuma doors.

ryokan_gojyuan_10

From doorway to guest room, a near-decade-long labour of love has resulted in a unique spatial experience, where traditional Japanese aesthetics are harmonised against the historical context of the property.

Ryokan Gojyuan
ryokangojyuan.com

Images courtesy of Isaac Leung
pireze.com


About the Author

Editorial Team

Tags

Ryokan Gojyuan


Related Projects
Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

Order Issue