Madhappy Retail
Isetan, Shinjuku

2025

A sleek, modern interior with light gray walls, white floors, a curved metal railing, and "MADHAPPY" text on the left wall.

Located within the renowned Isetan Shinjuku department store in Tokyo, two qualities stood out when studying the site for this concept store — it was large and it was long.

An isometric architectural rendering of a store layout with white walls, blue floor, and descriptive text boxes about its "Organization" and "Anchor" features.

With such an expansive floor plan and an eclectic range of clothing, several architectural objectives emerged. The design should: 1. clearly organize the space, 2. facilitate movement along its full length—encouraging customers to explore all the products in the store—and 3. draw in passersby from the adjacent department store circulation corridor.

Minimalist white interior with receding rectangular frames leading to a bright opening with a green tree.

Reference—Chiyodanomori Clinic by Hironaka Ogawa, 2013

A modern, minimalist corridor with light gray walls, a white floor, and a curving silver metal rail. Recessed lights line the ceiling, with warm-toned accents on walls.
Architectural plan showing a building layout with rooms, horizontal dashed lines, labels A, B, C, D, and four square outlines.

Long metal sheets divide the store into four parallel strips dedicated to tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories.

Modern minimalist interior with a curving silver railing, an arched entrance, and rooms featuring brown and light green walls.

Large openings are then cut through these strips, connecting each section and encouraging pairing between clothing types. These apertures also frame multiple display zones at intervals along the department store’s main corridor.

A large, curved silver slide with transparent sections descends from a high white ceiling, embedding into a concrete floor.

Reference—Experience by Carston Holler, 2012

Architectural diagram showing a building floor plan above a red wavy line path that weaves between four square outlines.

Finally, a continuous hanging rack threads through the store, drawing customers along its length. It lifts to allow people to pass beneath it, lowers to present clothes for browsing, and turns around corners to capture the attention of passersby.

A modern, minimalist clothing store interior with white floors, gray walls, recessed lighting, and clothes on display.