The facade of Louis Vuitton‘s store in Osaka, designed by architects Jun Aoki & Associates and Peter Marino, is based on the sails of old Japanese merchant ships
The Louis Vuitton Maison Osaka Midosuji stands on the busy shopping street of Shinsaibashi-suji.
Japanese architecture firm Jun Aoki & Associates and New York architecture studio Peter Marino collaborated to design the shop.
It’s facade is based the translucent sails of traditional Higaki-Kaisen cargo ships, in reference to the city’s history as an important port.
They filter light into the interiors during the day, and create a lantern-like effect at night.
“The purity of the facade is reinforced by the use of metal fretwork motifs at ground-floor level,” said Jun Aoki & Associates.
Inside wooden floors reference to the deck of a ship, along with wood-clad pillars and metal ceilings “reminiscent of the spirit of a grand yacht embarking on an exciting adventure”.
Across four storeys, the shop features clothes and accessories as well as historical objects from the Louis Vuitton Archives and contemporary art from the house’s Objets Nomades collection.
The top floor is home to Le Café V, the first Louis Vuitton Cafe, created in collaboration with chef Yosuke Suga.
Inside the cafe is a secret entrance to an exclusive restaurant, Sugalabo V, also housed within the shop.
The ground level windows of the new shop are covered with an artwork of coloured ribbons by Kenta Cobayashi, designed to contrast the minimal, light forms of the sails that cover the building above.
Japanese woodwork and origami washi paper have been used throughout the interiors.
A wooden staircase connects the shop’s levels, with women’s accessories on the ground floor.
The mezzanine floor is dedicated to luggage travel, with clothing collections for men and women found on the floors above.
The top-floor café opens onto a small terrace, partially sheltered by the facade’s sails and featuring a terrazzo floor.
Several recent projects for the luxury fashion house have featured references to sails, including a recent shop in Seoul designed by Frank Gehry that was itself a reference to the American architect’s Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.
Other recent shops include Marino’s renovation of Louis Vuitton’s Bond Street store in London.
Louis Vuitton’s flagship Osaka store covered in curving glass sails [Dezeen]