To celebrate the 12th anniversary of a Jins eyewear store, Schemata Architects has completed a renovation that involved taking a sledgehammer to the walls.
The Japanese eyewear brand enlisted the Jo Nagasaka-led practice to create a more open-plan and welcoming space for customers of its store in Ageo, in Japan's Saitama Prefecture.
Having knocked through the majority of the shops pre-existing walls, all areas of the shop can now be seen from the exterior – a key element in the architects' design objectives.
The new glazing put in its place features a Low-E coating – meaning the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through glass is minimised, without compromising the overall quality of light.
"We removed the exterior walls and installed Low-E paired glass to create the view towards the beautiful courtyard from the street, whilst making the impressive display of extensive eyewear products highly visible from the street at the same time," said Schemata.
By exposing the structure that previously lay hidden inside the walls, the architects created an interior space characterised by the presence of wooden cross-braces.
"The interior design was intended to emphasise the effect of exposing the skeleton of the building," the practice added.
"New interior walls are offset from the original wall lines, finished with brick tiles usually used for exterior finishes," it said. "Shelves and display furniture are designed as independent elements detached from the building."
Acknowledging that it can often be difficult to create a unique aesthetic in a market full of products that "vary in shapes and colours," Schemata also developed a new graphic identity for the Ageo shop.
The architects worked with design studio KIGI "to introduce visual elements in the shop so that the products and the space can relate to each other in a free and independent way".
This collaboration with Jins marks the latest in a series of retail store projects for Schemata.
The studio recently worked with KHA Studio to create a minimal fashion boutique in Tokyo and designed a shop for sportswear brand Descente Blanc at the end of last year.
