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The Building
Sited in a sea of low-rise, homogenised heterogeneity, Herzog and
de Meuron placed the shop proper at a corner of the site and it
becomes a landmark attraction due to its visibility. Freeing part
of the land, they created an intimate plaza which serves as a meeting
point and a precious relief in the totally built-up area in the
surrounding.
Amidst this beautiful symphony of mass and void spaces, the 6-storey
high, 5-sided polyhedral Prada Aoyama with a pointed top stands
out like a Krypton crystal that has just landed from outer space.
The façade comprises of a diamond-shape grid filled with
hundreds of glass panels in 4 different types. There is the usual
flat and transparent glass, the etched glass for modesty in the
changing rooms, bulging convex glass that seems to project the interior
of the shop out onto the street and sucked-in concave glass that
seemingly draws the passer-by on the street into the shop itself.
Together, these modular elements which form a compact architectural
universe that gives an unexpected and multidimensional shopping
experience. Not only do they offer unique views inwards to the products
on display and outwards to the panoramic views across the city,
they also created a surrealistic collage and reflection of one's
whereabouts.
The Plaza
Surrounding the free standing glass and steel honeycomb 'crystal'
is a boundary wall that folds as it negotiate the corner and unfolds
onto the ground, forming the plaza. Defining the edges of the plaza,
it terminates at one end with a flight of steps leading to the basement
of the shop. On a closer look at the ribbon-like structure, one
will have the delightful surprise and pleasure to discover that
the wall is faced with living moss in little square blocks, creating
a vaguely Aztec pattern.
The Interior
The main entrance pierces the honeycomb structural wall at ground
level, extending the piazza outside into the store. The spaces and
various elements like the vertical cores and horizontal steel tubes
are skilfully placed so that the shoppers do not distinguished between
the floors bur rather perceive it as one continuous space. Such
design intentions resulted in great technical complexity in terms
of fire safety, structure and glazing solutions.
The cream-based hexagonal steel tubes contain either changing rooms
or additional display space. Inside the waiting area for the changing
room, its clear glass walls can be rendered opaque at the touch
of a button. In addition, these structural tubes are like telescopes
that frame the different views in the city. With the criss-cross
circulation path and the abundant cream-based colour theme, one
tends to wonder if one has been in the same floor before as one
moves between the different floors.
The ceilings are finished in perforated metal with a series of
indented black holes where light fittings are inserted. The display
shelving 'grew' out from the vertical shafts and is viscously finished.
The most eye-catching item of all will probably be the low, moulded
see-through fibreglass tables that are illuminated from within.
Some are even filled with fibre-optics that glow like the tentacles
of jellyfish. The whole orchestra is completed by the presence of
the snorkel-like elements that are used to transport images, sound
and light.
When night falls, the building glitters, shines and radiates like
a festive beacon of style and fashion in the heterogeneous urban
fabric of Tokyo.
The Kaleidoscopic Universe
Prada Aoyama has set new standards. It is an inventive new store
that breathes new life in the architectural world of designing for
fashion. It sets out to redefine the traditional distinction between
glass curtain wall, structure and façade, in the process
eliminating the traditional differentiation between architecture,
shop window and display. Everything is a display, everything is
architecture. In fact, everything is a spectacle. Both the objects
of desire and the shoppers are all but part of the enactment of
the haute-couture stage set-up. Alternating between transparency
and opaqueness, sharpness and blurring, cold sophistication and
pseudo organic, this highly textured and tactile architecture has
made shopping a comfortable and memorable one.
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