© Daici Ano
There is a large concentration of boutiques on Ginza’s »Chūō-dōri« (literally: Main Street): among them, this flagship store, which has just been enlarged from two to three levels. As part of the renovation work a new facade was added that spans all of the building’s eight stories.
Integrating the steel structural system of the previous building envelope was a requirement and limited the new skin’s thickness to 24 cm and its weight to 40 kg/m2. The response: a double-skin aluminium skin of 5 mm thick panels consisting of both funnel- and star-shaped elements in 5 different sizes. The panel joints run diagonally, hidden behind the star panels. The facade’s depth is accentuated by backlighting.
Integrating the steel structural system of the previous building envelope was a requirement and limited the new skin’s thickness to 24 cm and its weight to 40 kg/m2. The response: a double-skin aluminium skin of 5 mm thick panels consisting of both funnel- and star-shaped elements in 5 different sizes. The panel joints run diagonally, hidden behind the star panels. The facade’s depth is accentuated by backlighting.