Interior Architecture: From Brief to Build

Jennifer Hudson

• Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781780675282
• Topic: Arquitectura
• Subtopic: Diseño de interiores

Interior Architecture provides an in-depth study of the creative and construction processes behind 30 contemporary interior designs. Covering a broad range of international projects, the book illustrates the working methods and creative concerns of both long-established and emerging international designers. Every stage of the project is included, from the demands of the original brief, through early sketches and design development to investigation of building regulations and collaboration with engineers, contractors, builders, and suppliers. Each project is presented through an explanatory overview, shots of production and construction processes, and details of fixtures, fittings, customized furnishings, and decoration. Interior Architecture offers both students and professional designers, an inspiring and informative overview of how today's major interior architectural projects are designed and built.

1

RETAIL

Ryuji Nakamura

JIN’S GLOBAL STANDARD, NAGAREYAMA

Tokujin Yoshioka

Swarovski, Ginza

Chris Briffa Architects

SHU

Harry Allen Design

DuPont™ Corian® Design Studio

Christian Biecher

Fauchon, Paris

Estudio Mariscal

H&M Store

Merkx+Girod Architects

Selexyz Dominicanen Bookstore

JIN’S GLOBAL STANDARD, NAGAREYAMA

Ryuji Nakamura

Location: Nagareyama, Chiba, Japan Principal use: Optician Client: JIN Co. Ltd. Floor area: 104m^2 (1,119ft^2)

Design period: July 2006 – February 2007 Construction period: December 2006 – February 2007 Budget: Undisclosed but limited

JIN’s GLOBAL STANDARD eyewear store (nicknamed ‘Shortcut’ by the architect) was one of the five recipients of The Great Indoors Award in 2007. From 250 entries Ryuji Nakamura found himself in the company of world-famous architects such as Zaha Hadid, Thomas Heatherwick and Wonderwall as a winner of the coveted prize, praised for his “refusal to acknowledge the existence of the immediate surroundings [which] added to the quality of the design”. It’s a considerable achievement for an architect who has yet to make his mark outside of Japan and for a design that occupies a limited floor space of only 104m² (1,119ft²). The tiny concession is situated in a shopping mall on the outskirts of Nagareyama in the Chiba province of Japan, an unlikely location for an innovative retail concept but the international jury recognized a project that transcended its restrictions and created a strongly conceptual yet extremely customer-friendly interior.

The space is a visual curiosity and bears none of the usual elements you would expect to see in a store competing for attention in a busy shopping centre; there is no signage, no window display, no open floor area and in fact on first sight it’s not immediately obvious what’s for sale. It may not “acknowledge the existence of the immediate surroundings” but what the outlet does is make the most of its location – a corner position at the apex of the main walkways in the mall – to attract customers to take a ‘shortcut’ through it and while doing so try on a pair of JIN Global’s fashionable glasses. The interior is made up of a series of ‘corridors’ formed by obliquely placed parallel walls that persuade passers-by to enter. Two walkways punch out through the partitions from the tills situated at the rear of the shop to the public access routes. The idea was to make the shop as unintimidating as possible to encourage people to handle the merchandise freely, and, as the glasses are displayed without lenses so reducing the risk of theft, Nakamura constructed floor-to-ceiling walls that block clear views from the staff. The resultant unselfconscious environment is inviting and geared towards the user. The architect likens it to a coral reef where shoppers gather like tropical fish to graze.

It was a bold decision for the client but one that has been justified by the amount of sales the idea has generated. The relationship between Nakamura and JIN Co., Ltd is long-standing; with Nakamura having completed a number of interiors for the visionary Japanese businessman who now owns a chain of shops selling inexpensive glasses designed in Japan but manufactured in China. They have worked together since Nakamura left the office of his mentor, artist and architect, Jun Aoki, who recommended his protégé to the CEO of JIN Global, Hitoshi Tanaka. Nakamura graduated from the Tokyo National School of Fine Arts and Music where he was taught that architecture is a form of art. He spent over three years with Aoki who further instilled this view and whose work he credits with the ability to fill spaces with atmosphere. The lessons he learned in his formative years are clear in his work today, from the ghostly-white, fabric-clad VIP room in a Nagano restaurant, and a resin-rod Insect Cage – an art piece that represents his search for the ultimate in transparency – to the ten interiors he’s completed for JIN Co., Ltd. The store in Nagareyama appears more like a surreal stage set, or a painting by Giorgio de Chirico than a functional retail space, its repeated elements stretching outwards like the ripples cast by a drop of rain in a pool of water. He muses, “What I strive for is a small wave of water, as in a river, from which beauty gradually emerges.”

Despite the apparent simplicity of his creative designs and interiors, they are produced by a rock-solid methodology and a high level of technical expertise. He produces many sketches and physical models as communication tools to convey his concept. For the Nagareyama project his first proposal, initially accepted by the client, was to exhibit the glasses on strengthened (vulcanised fibre) paper holders. He collaborated with a specialist paper manufacturer to create the bespoke displays that would keep their shape under pressure, and presented the idea using models and plans. From the start he had in mind the angled walls and ‘corridors’ but initially had no access to the counters. The relationship was collaborative. Although Nakamura has worked extensively for the brand he tries to do something different each time and it’s the experimental nature of his concepts that keeps the client excited about his work, even if, at times, these need to be tempered for practical reasons. Tanaka was concerned that the partitions made it impossible for the staff to control what was happening in the shop and requested some kind of opening that would allow the customers to be discreetly visible from the tills. During construction he also had reservations that the fragile-looking paper holders would make the customers insecure about handling the glasses and Nakamura was asked to change the display. The second proposal added the access routes from the rear of the shop and replaced the notice-board effect. To match the walls that were already in place Nakamura suggested unobtrusive, narrow wooden shelves that appear almost like a wallpaper pattern. To increase the domestic connotation Nakamura also recommended a series of framed mirrors to resemble pictures on the wall.

This curious Japanese eyewear shop demonstrates what can be achieved when client and architect work successfully together. Although Nakamura was forced to change his initial concept, the result, he admits, is richer than the original idea. “I learnt that the ‘architectural’ process of placing walls and then opening up access into them was very powerful and enjoyable. I understood that interior decoration could be made to emphasize the structural fabric: I learnt the potential of interior design.”

Although JIN’s Global Standard store is located on a busy corner of a suburban sho...