Retail projects within new buildings tend to focus solely on the novelty and branding of the store and exclude the context of the space as a planning element. In this project, although the site is a tenant in a new building, we tried to incorporate the context which the building was rebuilt and the historical time of the site as elements of the store, so that past and present time coexist. With the need of seismic strengthening, the dismantling and re-construction of Daimaru Shinsaibashi started in 2016. The former building was designed by W.M Vories, an architect who came to Japan first as an evangelist but also left many works such as schools, churches, second houses. The former Daimaru Shinsaibashi building which was built in 1933, was known for its luxurious Neo-gothic style with stained glass works, octagon shaped pillars, and other geometric Art-deco decorations. Upon designing the Aesop store in Daimaru Shinsaibashi, we aimed to create a place where people can feel the philosophy of Vories. For main materials, we selected the dark brown wood. The granite, the subdued color plaster and copper plates were added to the design palette to coincide with the main materials. Throughout the plan and the overall composition of the space, we used and applied a typical shape seen in many works of Vories, the octagon. “Eight” in the holy bible is an important number with the meaning “resurrection”. “Eight” in the holy bible is an important number with the meaning “resurrection”. Christ resurrected from on the eighth day, showing his self present in front of his all his disciples including Thomas. As a devout christian, it is unclear today what feelings Vories had while designing Dimaru Shinsaibashi. However, our wish is to inherit various elements from the history, and to re-construct them into a new shop experience through our store design for Aesop.
Aesop Daimaru Shinsaibashi
Case-Real
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Designer
Client
Aesop
Floor area
89.94 ㎡
Completion
2019
Designer
Design Assistant
Construction
Lighting Plan
Photo
Courtesy of Aesop