![Sfera Building / Claesson Koivisto Rune - Image 1 of 22](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/84ad/28ba/0d67/1700/02fd/medium_jpg/stringio.jpg?1414074799)
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Architects: Claesson Koivisto Rune
- Area: 1200 m²
- Year: 2003
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Photographs:Claesson Koivisto Rune
Text description provided by the architects. The Sfera Building is a culture centre in Gion containing an art gallery, a design shop, an art book and music store, restaurants, offices and a café.
![Sfera Building / Claesson Koivisto Rune - Image 9 of 22](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/84be/28ba/0d67/1700/0301/medium_jpg/stringio.jpg?1414074817)
Gion is the traditional district of Kyoto. The centuries old low, wooden houses share a typical feature: the sunscreen, made of bamboo, wood or rice paper. We wanted to find a way to make a screen that did the same thing, but in a new way. We picked some leaves from a small cherry tree. In our office, we laid the cherry leaves on a light-table and photographed them. Our leaf image transformed, with the help of computers, into a punched-hole pattern. The resulting facades were a ”leaf screen” that had a monolithic appearance, yet was actually transparent: a titanium veil, creating an intricate play of light and shadow on the interior.
![Sfera Building / Claesson Koivisto Rune - Image 2 of 22](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/84cc/28ba/0d67/1700/0304/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414074801)