Renovation Mitsukoshi. KKAA
Tokyo, Japan
October, 2018

Department store (5,237.9 m2). Mitsukoshi is the first and oldest department store in Japan. Kengo Kuma and associates (Kkaa) renewed their main store in Nihonbashi to a “white and shiny forest”.

They placed a tree canopy on each pillar, which is made of aluminum panels set in different angles. The panels had been cut based on the data generated by a 3D program. The trees’ canopies are repeated to create a “forest” in the urban environment. A LED light is installed on each canopy so that Kkaa could get add an effect of komorebi (=light in a forest filtering through the tree leaves) in the space.

The Mitsukoshi building, designed by Tamisuke Yokokawa, has been designated as Japan’s Important Cultural Property. With this project, the building regained its glamor and was reborn to enliven the downtown culture of Tokyo.

more. www.kkaa.co.jp