In addition to selling cameras and accessories, the store offers printing services, repairs, a book lounge and an event space. The design concept of this space is inspired by a “camera obscura (dark room)”, the origin of the camera. The building has seven levels, from one basement floor to six above ground, with particular focus on the layout and flow planning for each floor and the associated signage. In spatializing Kitamura Camera, the first two important choices that came to mind were whether to deliberately differentiate the theme of each floor from the others, or to unify them. In the end, we decided to find a way to reconcile the two conflicting ideas, like a relationship between the earth and the map. In the first place, a photographic space needed to moderately suppress the reflection of the flash, and a neutral gray, which was optimal for this purpose, became an inevitable spatial element. This was the obscura (dark room), which was a key element in shaping our idea of a background ideal for the theme of photography. From there, while prioritizing the function of each floor, we aimed to visually differentiate them through the use of materials that represent each theme that inspires associated memories. The concept of each floor is: ground floor: “an entrance open to the city", 2nd floor: “an inviting tunnel", 3rd floor: “comfort created by the overhead shelves", 4th floor: “a sense of a collection and storage", 5th floor: “an organized workshop where trust is visible", 6th floor: "Japanese quality and practicality". We look forward to the future presence and influence of this building in Shinjuku, the holy land of cameras, not to mention the enthusiastic attention to detail in the space within that corresponds to the mechanical precision of the camera.
Shinjuku Kitamura Camera
Tonerico
Bronze

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Designer
Client
KITAMURA
Floor area
1128 ㎡
Completion
2020
Construction management