OMA in Tokyo

A new flagship store for Coach, Inc. in the Omotesando shopping district of Tokyo, Japan, designed by OMA. Photo: Iwan Baan

A two-story shopping space on a busy corner in Tokyo's Omotesando district is home to the ninth flagship store of the Coach retailer. The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) designed the complete space, from curtain wall to product shelving, which happen to be one in the same.

Facade shelves and louvers. Photo: Iwan Baan

Inspired by the original Coach store's wooden library-style shelving, the Omotesando flagship uses a series of all-glass shelves, set into the building's exterior wall – visible from the inside and out – and in a free-standing multistory display area in the center of the space, enclosing the main stair.

Perspective Section. Image: OMA

A herringbone pattern is used to organize the stacked rectangular display boxes, lending a sense of visual order and variety all at once. These merchandise display boxes are made of glass on the building's facade and acrylic for the stair tower. The standard module measures 1800 x 520 millimeters (71 x 20 inches)

Start of stair. Photo: Iwan Baan

Frosted glass is also used for shelving throughout the interior and appears on the store's facade in the form of louvers.

The slight bluish green hue of the frosted glass contrasts with an interior whose sole material color is white:  stone floor, ceiling, and wall

Looking down the staircase. Photo: Iwan Baan

Project Details

• Stories: 2
• Area: 444.75 square meters (4,787.25 square feet)
• Energy Use Intensity: not available
• Exterior Wall: 210 glass units
• Stair Tower: 105 acrylic units

Looking down the Omotesando street. Photo: Iwan Baan

Project Credits

• Client: Coach, Inc.
• Local Architect and Engineer: Obayashi Corporation
• Facade Consultant: Michael Ludvik
• Interior Architecture: Nomura, Co., Ltd.
• Partner-in-Charge: Shohei Shigematsu
• Project Architect: Rami Abou Khalil
• Team: Yolanda do Campo, Benedict Clouette with Jackie Woon Bae, Cass Nakashima, Phillip Poon, David Theisz

Glass shelves at second floor. Photo: Iwan Baan

Ground-floor lobby. Photo: Iwan Baan