Madhappy Retail
Kita-Aoyama

2024

an artist 's impression of a room with stairs and mirrors .

Design for Madhappy’s new Kita-Aoyama store in Tokyo.

A sketch of a plaza that is dropped into the Madhappy store.

Two public architectures are inserted into the space: on the ground floor, a shiny plaza where people can sit is dropped in; and on the second floor, a communal counter for people to gather around is pushed up.

a large empty room with a blue floor and stairs .
a black jacket is hanging on a rack in a room with a blue floor .

Adding volume and dimension to the space using steps creates a sunken seating area that doubles as product display, servicing the store's communal ambitions while maintaining its commercial function.

a black and white photo of a group of people on a porch

Reference—Photo by Lisa Larsen, 1951.

a building with a lot of windows and sliding glass doors

Textured cork covers the walls, creating a contrast between the existing building and the new “public” components that have been introduced. The rough organic feel of the cork turns focus toward the glossy pop of pastels and metals of the space’s new elements.

an empty room with a window and a mirror that doubles as a hanging rack.
an artist 's impression of a room with a table and mirrors

The second floor. Hidden in the stairwell is a small coffee counter.

a large counter in a room with a blue floor
a large empty room with a lot of windows and a stop sign .

The space prior to build.

Photographer: Kazufumi Shimoyashiki