The HOF Weblog

The word michi-ya means city house and is somewhat distinctive in the fact that it--for the most part--refers to a style of architecture found in Kyoto, Japan. The michi-ya is a shophouse design that allows the shop-owners to do business below, while living on the 2nd floor.

When designing the house, we always had ideas that the house would always be one story, however, I thought we should put a loft above the garage some day to capitalize on the solid foundation that went into building that structure.

I sent several examples of what a michi-ya should look like to May '37. They show the wood paneled facade, the double tiled eves, and the cool looking, wood framed 2nd story windows.