Traditionally, the sitting of a dojo is guided by specific rules for its orientation.
The honorary side is called Kamiza and faces the South. The teacher always seats with the Kamiza on his back. The other side is called the Shimoza and is for the learners. On the Shimoza side, the advanced learners seat on the left of the teacher (East side called Joseki) and the beginners seat on the right (West side called Shimoseki).
This specific orientation has its own symbolic. The sunlight is the knowledge and learners can only see this light through the reflexion given by the teacher who must be its most faithful mirror. The advanced learners are on the sunrise side because they start to understand the essential principles of their practice while the beginners are still into the darkness.
The dojo is built on a site witch has a gentle slope towards East. Setting down that way, the new building follows the Knowledge. The filters made of glazed partitions and the filled areas create successive gaps forming the different spaces. The free plan alternates between opacity, translucence and gaps playing with light and shadow.
Black is its color, wood is its materials, transparent are its openings.
By DE ALZUA+
