Japanese architect Chikara Ohno of the design firm Sinato, has designed the interior for a Patrick Cox shop, a general clothing and accessories store in Tokyo, Japan, featuring cylindrical steel pendant fixtures hovering above each display item.
Chikara Ohno describes the design as followed:
‘The shop is in a 17-story building in Tokyo’s fashion-centric Aoyama district and it is only a few steps inside the building’s main entrance. The important point of this shop seemed to be lighting. The products can shine and get a better look if the light source is close by, not shining down from the ceiling.
So I positioned each of cylindrical steel pendant fixtures directly over a corresponding display pedestal. These fixtures provide most of the lighting in the space without the lighting from the ceiling. As a result, this space gets unique conditions such as “dark in above and well-lighted in below”.
The gradation of the wall is a promotion of it. At the same time, the pendant fixtures cut the void and shape the space. Pathways in the shop seem to meander beneath a canopy formed by the largest of the drum shades.’
The project is the winner of the Japanese Commercial Environment Designers Association (JCD) Design Award 2009. The JCD Design Award honors futuristic commercial environment design that showcases the exceptional talent of newcomers.
Photography by Toshiyuki Yano of Nacasa & Partners.
