UNIQLO TOKYO

“LifeWear” is UNIQLO's commitment to creating perfect clothing that meets the lifestyle needs of everyone. In 2020, UNIQLO will further evolve its existing UNIQLO stores and open new UNIQLO stores that embody LifeWear in Yokohama, Harajuku, and Ginza. Mr. Kashiwa Sato will be involved in these stores as total producer and creative director, and will provide all customers who visit the stores with the best clothes and services that UNIQLO can think of.

We supported the new global flagship store "UNIQLO TOKYO" that opened at Marronnier Gate Ginza 2 in Ginza from the architect selection process stage and were responsible for everything from schematic design interiors design to construction.
The exterior and part of interiors concept design was done by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, winners of the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of architecture, and the Praemium Imperiale. The store is an information dissemination store, packed with the appeal of UNIQLO now and in the future.

[Social Issues/Customer Issues/Requests]
・With the concept of "all of LifeWear here", it became necessary to create an unprecedented store as "the most advanced retail store in the world".

・Hardware: The UNIQLO Marronnier Gate Ginza store, which was on the 7th floor of Marronnier Gate Ginza 2, was relocated and expanded to 4 floors from the 1st to 4th floors, marking the first renovation in 8 years. A large-scale renovation was required that would create new value by comprehensively considering the architecture and interiors concept design.

・Intangible aspects: Opening a store in the Ginza/Yurakucho area, which is undergoing redevelopment, is an important and major challenge for UNIQLO's store opening strategy, and it was required to create a new store for customers visiting the town.

[Solution]
To this end
1. In terms of hardware, a new UNIQLO was created with a bold store concept design that exposed the existing building structure.
The building's exterior was stripped away, leaving a strong structural impression and connecting the inside and outside of the building. The existing slab was cut away to create a boldly planned void space* that runs through the four floors, visually connecting the upper and lower floors and contributing to an open and dynamic spatial composition.
*Void space: An open space with no intentionally created structures.

2. In terms of intangible aspects, the store has been positioned as a new hub for UNIQLO by "giving each sales floor its own unique character and offering a full lineup of all UNIQLO products."
In addition, a well-thought-out circulation plan has enabled us to make the most of the sales floor space on one floor and provide a comfortable shopping experience with a wide range of products.
Leveraging our strengths in design and construction, we helped create "not just a shopping experience, but an information dissemination store packed with the appeal of UNIQLO's future," and "a store that embodies UNIQLO's LifeWear, aiming to be a more sophisticated, high-quality store."
We also assisted with the overall store concept, placing importance on respect for the history and location of the store as well as the store's characteristics and location, and hoping to create a social presence that local people would think of as their own.

* displays are from the time of the photo. displays vary depending on the season.

<Our project members>
[Sales and Project Management] Muneaki Takahashi, Hidenori Miyaura, Yuta Watanabe
[Planning] Makoto Yamazaki, Soji Tominaga
[design, layout] NODE: Kazuya Naka, Hiroshi Yamaguchi
[Production and construction] Atsushi Hatano, Risa Yoshida, Fumiyasu Yamagami, Yuka Ohara, Kotaka Odajima, Atsushi Ohmae, Yasutake Miyashita / NOMURA (Beijing) Co., Ltd..: Yuya Tsuchiya