![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_hero-852x479.jpg)
yHa architects converts Japanese sake brewery building into tasting and exhibition space
Japanese studio yHa Architects has inserted a steel cuboid, wall and stairs inside this former rice mill in Saga Prefecture to create a sake tasting and exhibition space.
The gallery occupies one of many disused buildings relating to the sake brewing industry in the town of Kashima.
![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_1704_col_0-852x569.jpg)
This renovation by yHa architects is the latest reinvention of the building, which was originally designed as a rice mill but more recently served as a warehouse.
Listed as a building of cultural significance within the town, the architects were not permitted to alter the exterior appearance so they focused their renovations internally.
![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_1704_col_7-852x1288.jpg)
A steel cuboid forms the building's entrance, acting as a bridge over a stream outside the door.
Inside, the addition of a new steel gallery structure modernises the space and creates distinct zones, while retaining views of the original wooden structure.
![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_1704_col_3-852x629.jpg)
Using the full height of the former mill, the architects also created a mezzanine level where visitors can get a closer view of the ageing structure or peer down into its modern addition.
Square openings cut into all sides of the steel cuboid create a variety of viewpoints for visitors.
![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_1704_col_2-852x1251.jpg)
Originally constructed for the Fukuchiyo sake brewery in the 1920s, the building had become structurally unstable.
To resolve this, the architects attracted steel-plated ribs to the existing wooden frame – stabilising the structure while having minimal visual impact.
![Fukuchiyo sake brewery by yHa Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/10/wine-cellar-gallery-fukuchiyo-sake-brewery-architecture-interior-design-renovation-conversion-kashima-japan_dezeen_1704_col_5-852x568.jpg)
The architects used steel not only for its structural properties, but to contrast the warm-toned timber of the building's existing frame.
Japanese studio CAPD recently completed a similar conversion, renovating a house in Tokushima Prefecture by using large wooden boxes to creates rooms and a mezzanine.
Photography is by Y. Harigane