A visit to MUJI Mujirushi Ryohin Yurakucho Store
3.21,2003 photo by mirutake
Oh, the installation was challenging indeed.
And so, the store can now be installed in this kind of unfinished touch .
The fire resistant coated steel frame structure was not covered at all and even some of the "columns" were in such state and stood bare as they were. Instead, they were enclosed with glass over the range where we can touch. I thought that this trial may be an architectural presentation of the commercial image of MUJI, which is known for an unfinished touch and rawness. How would it be expressed in architecture? May be this was what was done here.
The paper made spoon is lovely, too.
I suppose that the store was handed unfinished and it was done only up to the fire-resistant coated state. As the designer observed the room in fire-resistant coated state, he might have realized that maybe it would be perfectly fine to go on just as they were. There have already been an attempt to show the fire-resistant coated beam, but the column in such state was not yet tried out and he might have wanted to try. Let the fire-resistant coated column be enclosed with glass over the range where we can touch by hand and it would even look like a showcase. Wouldn,t it be such a subtle treatment ? The designer must have felt excited when he hit the idea. The glazing has been done simply that maybe the designer is from the interior field( not of architecture).
I like this large dining space and a large stairwell giving a large perspective. While presenting a casual atmosphere of temporary construction, the spaces where body touches are finished up in plaster boards and glass partition. Within the range where it can be touched by hand , wooden furnishings are not painted and finished up by clear lacquer and such. I think that this kind of treatment has succeeded to produce a "raw" touch, finishing up simply as possible
In fact, when I first came here, the touch of temporary construction stood out so much that I almost took for the store to be a temporary one. However, this time( at the end of the year) the interior making had been changed. The ceiling was colored ivory in the image color of MUJI and the grey steel beam was sprayed slightly in ivory, too, making the room brighter. I think that this was successful. The crudeness of temporary construction touch had decreased and the whole area had turned to become softer. And at last, as I looked over the whole scene, I finally noticed the fire resistant coated "column" enclosed by glass. Although, it attracts attention in the photograph, it does not show up too much in the real site, standing quietly in a bustle of space. It is exquisite.
03. 22.2003
