Klein Dytham architecture won the T-Site commission in a 2 stage invited competition. 77 architects were invited to submit proposals and KDa made it to the final selection with Kengo Kuma, Atelier Bow Wow, Mikan Gumi and Kumiko Inui, before winning the project in the final round.
KDa’s new Daikanyama T-Site is a campus-like complex for Tsutaya, a giant in Japan’s book, music, and movie retail market. Located in Daikanyama, an up-market but relaxed, low-rise Tokyo shopping district, it stands alongside the legendary Hillside Terrace buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki.
Slotted between large existing trees on the site, the three pavilions are organized by a “magazine street” that threads through the complex, blurring interior and exterior. Tailored particularly to over-50 “premium age” customers, Tsutaya’s normal product range is complimented by a series of boutique spaces carrying carefully curated product ranges.
Other facilities include a café, an upscale convenience store, and the Anjin lounge, where visitors can browse a library of classic design magazines and books or peruse artworks for sale as they eat, drink, read, chat, or relax. Externally, KDa’s characteristic wit emerges in subtle ways – the perforated screens of the façade are formed from the Ts of the Tsutaya logo, and much larger T-shapes are disguised in the building plans and elevations.
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images © Nacasa & Partners
