NICE TOUCH BURGER

A hamburger shop renovated from a orange warehouse facing the Shimanami Kaido on Omishima Island, a small island with a population of about 5,000 in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.

Omishima is a Seto Inland Sea island where agriculture, centered on mandarin orange cultivation, is the primary industry. Walking around the island, you see many similar mandarin orange warehouses. They are single-story reinforced concrete structures with flat roofs and two tiers. They are built along main roads convenient for distribution. Currently, due to aging populations and the harsh realities of farming on the island’s rugged terrain, abandoned farmland is increasing. Nevertheless, these mandarin orange warehouses remain an important element of  Omishima’s livelihood landscape.

For this project, we decided to transform one of these orange warehouses into a new livelihood space for a client relocating to  Omishima, making only minimal alterations to preserve the island’s landscape.

First, we cleaned the warehouse and sorted usable items from unusable ones. Despite its prime seaside location, the site also faces roads where cars and bicycles pass at high speeds. Therefore, we created an outdoor seating area where the business activity is immediately visible from outside. Using local stone sourced locally as foundation stones, we built a simple roof and benches. The outdoor seating area features paving laid with stone offcuts, creating a casual space where cyclists can stop and eat or drink right away.

Inside, the renovation is simple: just a large L-shaped counter. We aimed for a soft, bright interior with a countertop made of thick cypress planks. Perforated panels run in stripes across the ceiling and walls, serving both as utility space and display area.

We prepared the space with help from the client and neighbors, using salvaged orange crates from the warehouse for fixtures and exterior elements, and reupholstering chairs with canvas. We designed it for straightforward construction so we can maintain it ourselves going forward.

This became a small hub and its base—a hamburger shop—leveraging building materials and skills unique to the island.