Located in an up-market but relaxed shopping district, KDa’s new Daikanyama T-Site is a collection of buildings for Tsutaya, a giant in Japan’s book, music, and movie retail market. Drawing on all KDa’s design skills – architecture, interior, furniture and product display – the project’s ambition is to define a new vision for the future of retailing. 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.
