Omotesando Keyaki Building

Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama

OMOTESANDO KEYAKI BUILDING

Norihiko Dan And Associates

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Arup

DESIGN TEAM
Norihiko Dan, Nobuaki Yamada, Eiji Sawano, Yoshitaka Tenmizu

SUPERVISION
Norihiko Dan And Associates

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Setubikeikaku

LANDSCAPE
Norihiko Dan And Associates

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Norihiko Dan, Norihiko Dan And Associates

PHOTOGRAPHS
Kozo Takayama, Norihiko Dan And Associates

AREA
955 m²

YEAR
2013

LOCATION
Shibuya-ku, Japan

CATEGORY
Store

Text description provided by architect.

This eight-story commercial building—located on a corner lot at right angles to an alleyway and Omotesando Avenue—is actually surrounded by Tod’s L-shaped Omotesando Building by Toyo Ito.

Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama

The façade of the former old building faced Omotesando exclusively, so the side façade, facing the alleyway, was exposed awkwardly like the backside of a building.

Thus, this project tries to change this relationship to the Tod’s building by creating a diagonal orientation with an irregularly shaped circle.

Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama

This is to maximize the corner lot feature of the premises, and to accentuate the inner vertical façade of the adjacent Tod’s building, in order to create a certain “symbiotic” synergy.

The building’s structure is composed of multiple leaf-shaped columns made from steel reinforced concrete and arranged on the outer shell.

The wood-like texture on these columns was developed by pouring concrete into a wooden mold.

Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Norihiko Dan and Associates
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Norihiko Dan and Associates

Omotesando is the heart of Tokyo’s fashion scene, and it is distinctive for its beautiful rows of zelkova (keyaki) trees, which bring continuity to the avenue.

On the other hand, the rows of exquisitely designed and eye-catching buildings express themselves so uniquely that they are all unrelated to each other.

The Keyaki Building, however, was designed to relate to its context: as pedestrians walk by, it gradually changes its expression, to find a meaning through this movement.

Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Courtesy of Hugo Boss
Omotesando Keyaki Building
© Kozo Takayama

Furthermore, by bringing intervening elements into the context, such as the vertical scale made possible by its torchshaped form provided by the concrete columns, the project aimed to liven and enrich the ki (whole atmosphere)—not only of the building itself, but also of the Omotesando streetscape.


Omotesando Keyaki Building
Detail
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Detail


Omotesando Keyaki Building
Floor Plan
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Floor Plan
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Floor Plan
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Site Plan


Omotesando Keyaki Building
East Elevation
Omotesando Keyaki Building
North Elevation
Omotesando Keyaki Building
Section

T +81 3 54401590
Norihiko Dan And Associates
Komiya bldg.1-11-19 Mita Minato-ku Tokyo 108-0073, Japan