AOI CELESTIE COFFEE ROASTERY
YUKO NAGAYAMA ASSOCIATES
2025 | Aichi, Japan | Extrusion | Quantity 180m²
—— Please tell us about the design concept for the space. Where in this space did you use the tiles?
We envisioned this building to be a regional landmark. The building embraces a central courtyard with a roof that looks as if it had floated down from the sky. Since this project is located in Aichi with deep roots in the ceramics culture, we used tiles extensively—not only for the finish of the iconic grand roof but also throughout the interior.
—— Please tell us about the tiles created for this project. Feel free to share the design concept, what you intended to express through the tiles, the functions you aimed to incorporate, and any specific details you focused on.
The main feature of the custom-made roof tiles is a gradation of blue hue that mirrors the sky. The color variation was created by adjusting the thickness of the glaze on grooved tiles. We planned so that the intensity of blue progressively increased from the top of the sloped roof towards the bottom. On rainy days, we envisioned the water flowing along the grooves down to the trees in the garden beneath.
—— You have created tiles with TCT before. Please share any new discoveries or insights you had this time around about the potential of tiles as a material.
28,000 hand-crafted tiles, with natural color variation due to their firing, were individually hand-laid by skilled workers to achieve the blue gradation. We were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful ripple-like sparkle of the glass glaze that appears at certain times of the day. We hope that this building will keep being a symbol of this place for the next 100 years with the help of tiles that will maintain their beautiful colors.
