The design of the sales area is inspired by a circus tent, and the collection of the brands are arranged to give the impression of market stalls. The fixtures of the accessory floor were inspired by wagons. The flooring scheme of the Compolux uses grey plastic floor tiles that are laid out in a herringbone style. To follow this scheme, we made the same colour change gently using the gradation effect along the passage that connects the annex building and the main building. In the “key to style” area the contrast of the colours of the plastic floor tiles has been enhanced incorporating striped patterns. The sales area surrounds the escalator, around which a circular line is formed for people to walk through. Cross-shaped passages that run diagonally were added to this area in order to improve the flow of people and create a line of sight. The project became one of, not simply designing a space, but to think of the Shibuya Seibu department store as a whole and to expand the concept of Compolux.
The ceiling heights are varied according to each cylinder, so as not to draw the attention to the beam. In contrast to the overall store bearing the image of huge “clouds”, the individual hats were displayed like small “umbrellas”. Previously the goods in a hat store are displayed on shelves, and thus was the case with this store, however this time the hats were newly mounted on arms resembling a handle of an umbrella projecting from the wall. Since hats help avoid the sunlight and protects the head, there is no out of place feeling with the image of an umbrella. The middle section of the space was turned into a seating area with mirror finish stools and tables, pipes hanging down from the ceiling with hats randomly hooked on like a floating “umbrella”. Additionally, in contrast to the surrounding stores that are designed using conservative colours, the walls were finished in pink and brown hues and wood was used to conjure a warm ambience.
Seibu Shibuya: new women’s fashion and hat floor
Design: Nendo