On September 30, 2021, a new jewelry zone was opened on the 2nd floor of Xidan Joy City (Da Yue City), located in the heart of North Beijing and is one of the most prominent commercial areas in the city. JOYCITY is a shopping center operated by Grand Joy throughout China, of which Xidan JOY CITY is the core store with particularly high sales and name recognition.
This time, we provided basic planning, basic design, implementation design, and design supervision for a brand editorial theme zone with jewelry brands targeting mainly young people concentrated in one corner of the facility. We have dispelled the brand image of a traditional jewelry store, which tends to be avoided by younger customers due to its emphasis on luxury. A signature mix of café spaces and other spaces where people can casually drop by has been created to create a my-first space with diversity.
The keywords for the design concept were (1) Mine (mining/my) and (2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life), derived from the characteristics of jewelry. We created a space that evokes a mine shaft with a sense of “softness,” “brightness,” “cleanliness,” and “calmness,” thereby expressing a sense of unity as a zone. At the same time, we were conscious of not losing the concept and spatial expression of each brand and completed the new space with a sense of unity as a zone and the individuality of each brand.
◆Design Concept
The creation of new and unprecedented spaces and how they can be integrated with commercial facilities is the source of inspiration for this design.The design concept was to create a space that evokes a mine shaft with a sense of softness, brightness, cleanliness, and serenity, based on the keywords (1) Mine (mining/my) and (2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life), which were derived from the characteristics of jewelry.
◆Design keywords
(1) Mine (mining/my)
“Mine” means not only “mining” but also “my, exclusively my own, my family”. We wanted this space to be a familiar and warm place where visitors can find special memories for themselves, their loved ones, and their families. To this end, we have given the space a soft and elegant presentation that touches the softest part of one’s heart.
(2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life)
The special brilliance of precious metals as well as the meaning of will, vitality, mystery, and the sparkle of life that guides the future. The radiance emitted by gold jewelry is expressed this space by through the light emitted from the gaps between the clouds and the light spots.
◆Spatial Direction
Ribbons are skillfully utilized throughout the space. The winding tunnels add a ribbon-like softness that naturally leads visitors deeper into the zone. Everyone is drawn to each branching store as if to explore and discover. The light inside the stores shines through irregularly sized holes in the storefront partitions, leaking out into the aisles. The zone consists of one island store and eight retail units surrounding it. We have combined our island shop with retail and a café, designing the BrandMiX space to include a rest space where people can stop by casually. A common space near the entrance is open to everyone, creating a natural flow to the jewelry area. In addition, as an aesthetic creation, a landscape of small plants signifying hope and the future were placed to convey the effort to implement measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which is spreading worldwide, and that the coronavirus must be contained as soon as possible. Evergreen natural mosses were combined to create hills of varying heights and scattered throughout the public areas to complete a simple yet mysterious, garden-like shopping space experience space that is soothing in its quietness.
■Designer Profile
Masahito Kamekawa
Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design, Senior Designer
Kamekawa has had many achievements in large commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls, both in Japan and overseas. He was involved in the concept design of the Hankyu Umeda Main Store rebuilding project (1F-3F) and the concept design and schematic design of the Shinsaibashi Daimaru rebuilding project (4F-5F and B1 Fashion Sundries). He was awarded the Asia Pacific Property Award 2016 for “Joy Yard” in JOYCITY, a commercial facility in Beijing, and a special award in the Architecture and Branding category of the Architizer A+ Award 2017 for the shoe department on the 2nd floor of JOYCITY. Kamekawa’s recent achievements include the concept design of Suzhou Joy Breeze and the concept design and schematic design of Beijing Joy Breeze.
Located in Yanji City, Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, China, the high-end department store Yanji Baicao Dalou is the No. 1 department store in the region, representing the city.
Yanji Department Store launched a floor-by-floor renovation project, and GARDE provided basic planning, basic design, implementation design, design supervision, and lighting design for the 6th floor, which is the first renovated floor.
The sixth floor originally consisted of only living room-related products, but by relocating the kids’ products section, which was located on the bridge between the buildings, we targeted families and created a living room and kids’ floor that families would gravitate towards.
This time,by reimaging the floor as a large house, we came up with the design concept”Resort House–with a resort-like atmosphere where everyone can gather and adults and children alike can relax and have fun.”
Each zone has a different design concept, such as “Soft Form”, “Natural Material”, and “Sun Light”, all of which gives a sense of warmth and openness. As a result, we designed a space in which people can enjoy walking around, moving through various “rooms” while maintaining a sense of unity.Using light colors, rounded forms, and a lot of wood, we have created”enveloping gentleness,” “natural materials”, and “warmth and openness”. In both the living zone and the kids’ zone, the ceiling design is switched to create a space that feels like a relaxing and warm resort-like home.
The living room zone is designed with warm wood flooring, tiles that give a sense of nature, wood and plaster materials, and design lighting that gives a sense of airiness.
On the other hand, for the kids’ zone, we designed a pop-up space with characteristic shapes, light coloring, and a playful ceiling design, a space with the image of a courtyard, a bright and warm children’s space with pillars based on lighting motifs, warm wood with moderate partitions, and a terrace space that looks like an outdoor playground with soft lighting like sunlight. The result is a space that makes families want to gather together.
■Designer Profile
Yutaka Yamamoto Design Division, Senior Director
Active mainly in the design and direction of large commercial facilities such as department stores, he was in charge of sales floor environment design for the Hankyu Umeda Main Store reconstruction project, overall direction for Nishinomiya Hankyu, and design of the 3rd and 4th floors for the entire Ginza Mitsukoshi store renovation. Overseas, he was in charge of the renovation of the entire DOOTA building in Seoul, the new PARKSON store in Johor Bahru, etc. In 2019, he was in charge of the design of the watch area on the 5th floor of Isetan Shinjuku, and he was the general design director of Ningbo Hankyu, which opened in 2021.
Akihisa Wakayama Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Chief Designer
After working on the design of large-scale commercial facilities at a domestic design firm, he joined Garde in 2021.While designing mainly large commercial facilities such as department stores, he has also worked on many specialty stores. He is currently working on a wide range of projects mainly in Asia.
Name: Yanji Department Store 6th floor (kids and living room floor)
Official opening: November 20, 2021
Location: No.608 Guangming Street, Yanji City, Jilin Province
Store area:7,567㎡ (6th floor)
On Thursday, January 20, Okamura, which has designed offices in Asia and other countries, and GARDE, which has designed offices mainly for foreign companies, held an online seminar.
The seminar was moderated by Yusuke Yamada, Editor-in-Chief of Okamura Corporation’s WORK MILL, and started with a presentation by Kenta Kawaguchi of Okamura Corporation’s Global Design Center on the theme of “Creating an office that encourages, not fears, change.
Based on examples from Southeast Asia, he explained in detail the elements necessary for offices to “transform from a place of work to a place of communication” from both software and hardware perspectives. As an example, in the design of the Okamura Bangkok office, to respect the identity and values born from the Thai environment and culture.he explained the adoption of “biophilic design”and A monk prays after the office is completed . I was able to hear some very fresh and interesting stories.
On the other hand, Francesco, a designer from GARDE, gave a presentation on “ABW/Agile Working”, which is said to be difficult to promote and spread in Japan after its introduction, under the theme of “Solutions to problems learned from ABW pilots”.
The combination of the pilot project and ABW/Agile working has many advantages even in the midst of uncertainty due to the impact of Corona, such as “the ability to try out scenarios based on various ways of working,” “the ability to make adjustments even in case of failure, and the ability to implement on a relatively small budget,” and “the ability to verify effectiveness and understand problems (PDCA). I also strongly felt that it is something that can be expected to have the potential for unique evolution and development in the future in office design in Japan, where unique cultures and environments still persist. After each company’s presentation, heated cross-talk was exchanged on how to make global standards and local standards coexist.
Through the presentations of the two companies, (1) communication and collaboration spaces will be secured. (2) Provide space (play) that can be adapted to various styles. I felt that the two companies had these things in common. Despite the hour and a half long session, more than 170 people attended, which showed how much attention and importance is being given to creating offices that respond to changes in work styles.
Well, GARDE will be planning and implementing many seminars and events focusing on the web. We also accept requests for our designers to appear in events co-hosted or organized by your company at any time. If you are interested, please contact us!
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■Seminar Overview
Title：What is the future of work and office design from the perspective of global office design?～Challenging Change～.
Date and time：Thursday, January 20, 2022, 15:00-16:30
Method：Webinar (using ZOOM Webinar)
Guest Speakers：Okamura Co. Kenta Kawaguchi, Global Design Center,
GARDE Co. Takanori Tsukiashi、Francesco Ristori
moderator：Okamura Co. Yusuke Yamada, Editor-in-Chief of WORK MILL
In December, GARDE and the Faculty of Architecture, The University of Da Nang, Vietnam co-hosted a web seminar titled “Tradition and Future”. In the seminar, participants exchanged passionate presentations on the achievements and examples of redesign and rebranding of traditional architecture in Japan and Vietnam, as well as the state of architecture and design in the post-corona era.
When you hear the words “tradition and future,” what comes to mind? Most of them are probably visible things such as culture, design, and form. Of course, they are inextricably linked to tradition and the future. However, in the creation of things such as architecture, the atmosphere and smell of the time period, the technology, the thoughts, hopes, efforts and struggles of the creator, and many other elements are included.
In recent years, there has also been an increase in the consideration of social issues such as “sustainability,” “SDGs,” and “environmental issues.” In architecture, consideration of environmental aspects, versatility, and sustainability in architectural design is becoming more important throughout the design, construction, and operation stages.
This means that the pursuit of “rationalism,” “humanism,” “progressivism,” and “convenience” promoted by modernization, where all that is needed is to innovate and cultivate customers, is becoming unacceptable in the future. It may mean that concepts and mechanisms such as “how does it work for sustainable development of society” and “what methods can be used to solve social issues” will become the pillars of product creation.This is not the first time that we are addressing social issues. Environmental architecture that is sustainable has been adopted in buildings dating back more than 200 years.
In this issue, we would like to introduce you to “redesigned architecture” that conveys a grand historical story and a tribute to the past.
■Candeo Hotel Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku (Kyoto, Japan)
Opened in June 2021, Candeo Hotels Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku is a redesign of the former Banke residence, a traditional machiya house registered as a tangible cultural property by the city of Kyoto. Among the machiya houses, the “Former Banke Family Residence” is a valuable building that retains the atmosphere of the time.The tatami room, which consists of the main room and the next room, has been finished in a sukiya style with menkawabashira pillars and menkawanageshi screens.In addition, the main room has a floor, shelves, and a hirashoin, and the shelves are decorated with ink paintings by Taiga Ikeno. It is an excellent design, with no skimping on details. In order to maximize the charm of the building, the tatami mats in the reception room, lounge, and bar have been kept intact, while the original courtyard has been preserved, and the reception room on the first floor has been carefully designed so that visitors can enjoy the Kyoto machiya space while relaxing.
The building consists of three wings: the reception wing, the guest room wing, and the large bathroom wing. In particular, the reception room, bar and lounge in the reception building are made from the original tatami space. The reception room features sliding doors with ink paintings by Taiga Ikeno, a literary painter from Kyoto, and a sandalwood-scented entrance to create a relaxing space reminiscent of Japan. In the bar space, the hanging lights on the street floor seen through the latticed windows create an atmosphere like watching lanterns displayed at a festival, creating the feeling of living in a machiya.
During the Gion Festival, which is the busiest time of the year in Kyoto, a float (Jomyozan) is assembled in front of the hotel. It is a valuable redesigned building where you can feel the history and atmosphere of Kyoto close at hand.
■Former Sakuramiya Public Hall (Osaka, Japan)
The former Sakuramiya Public Hall was built in 1935 as the Meiji Emperor Memorial Hall and was renamed the Sakuramiya Public Hall in 1948 after the war. The main entrance, made of tatsuyama stone, is a replica of the entrance of the Mint (now known as the Mint Bureau), which was built in 1871 by British architect and civil engineer Thomas James Waters. It is one of the oldest existing modern buildings in Japan and is designated as a national important cultural asset. It was the façade of Japan’s first real Western-style large factory complex, or foundry.
Incidentally, Thomas Waters was involved in the construction of the Osaka Mint, various Western-style factories for sugar, spinning, and paper, the Takebashi Jinei Clock Tower, and the British Legation. Japan’s first Hoffman-style wheeled kiln was built in Kosuge Village (now known as Kosuge, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo) to manufacture the bricks used in the Ginza Red Bricktown. He was one of the first important figures to bring Western-style architecture to Japan from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period.
After becoming the Sakuramiya Public Hall, it was used for various purposes such as a library and a youth art gallery before being closed in 2007. To save the building, which was an important cultural asset but had been abandoned without any use, the city of Osaka and a private company decided to launch a project to effectively utilize the historical asset.
Under the concept of “a fusion of the old and the new,” the project was designed to bring a modern sense of design to the building, while preserving the dignity and beauty of its history. The building was revived as the “Old Sakuramiya Public Hall” by restoring the original features such as he decorative ceiling, stage, and large arched windows have been restored to the way they were when the building was completed 78 years ago, and balancing the classic feel with the newly introduced furnishings and design. It is now a memorial space for wedding ceremonies and continues to create happy stories for many people.
■Soldier Field (Chicago, USA)
After World War I, many memorials and buildings were built to remember those who lost their lives in the war. One such memorial is the Greek Revival Soldier Field (1924) in the city of Chicago.Designed by Holabird and Roche in 1919 and featuring a huge Doric arcade, it was officially opened on November 27, 1926 at the 29th Army-Navy Game and. It has been home to the Chicago Bears football team since 1971.In 2003, the stadium was renovated by Wood and Zapata in conjunction with Chicago-based Rohan Caprile Gesch Associates, but the renovation remains controversial to this day. Finally, in 2006, the building was removed from the National Register of Historic Places. Let’s just say that preservationists and sports fans have their own ideas here…
As for the renovations, the reinforced concrete shell was retained, and the interior was redesigned with asymmetrical curved steel and glass fixtures. By demolishing the old and cramped sections, the overall capacity was reduced, but the distance between the spectators’ seats and the field became closer, and the space was successfully reborn with a live atmosphere.
While some critics have called it an “unsightly addition to the Lakeshore” and an “acropolis disaster.” However, many people have defended and praised the space-like design and design.
This is a wonderful building that shows the hard work and dedication of the people involved in this project, not to mention the difficulty of renovating a historic facility to satisfy both fans and conservationists.
During the two months from October to December, we held a series of four free web seminars on “Idle Assets: Effective Utilization of Closed School Sites. In recent years, due to the decline in the number of students caused by the declining birthrate and municipal mergers, about 500 public schools have been closed every year, as you may already know.
It is a great loss to the community and a negative impact on the safety and environment of the community when schools, which are supposed to be valuable assets and symbols of the community, are left idle because there is no clear way for them to be reused in the community. Against this background, finding new uses for closed school buildings is one of the projects that the public and private sectors should work together on. The important point here is whether the approach and strategy are formulated based on the promotion of the SDGs. The SDGs, which were adopted at the UN General Assembly held at UN Headquarters in New York in September 2015 as actions that are extremely important for humanity and the future, can now be said to be the basis for all value creation.
In this article, we would like to explore the key words for utilizing idle assets through examples of SDGs strategies from around the world.
■What are SDGs?
In September 2015, a text named “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development/Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was adopted by the UN General Assembly. This is the text that describes the sustainable development goals used in the name of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Based on the principle of “leave no one behind,” 17 goals and 169 targets have been set for 2030. At the beginning of the text, there are five key words that state that the future after 2030 can be seen by intertwining all aspects of “people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.
■Thinking about the SDGs from the perspective of idle assets
#１. Local development x SDGs
As we consider the goal of the SDGs – a world, society, and local communities that develop sustainably – there is a growing concern about the rapid depopulation of Japan’s local communities, especially in rural and mountainous areas. The decline of local industries and the deterioration of the living environment will accelerate the decline of the population, which will eventually lead to the decline of local communities and the threat of the disappearance of settlements. Now that it has become clear that it is no longer possible for local governments to provide the kind of services to residents that they have in the past, based on the premise of population growth, there is a need to establish a new model for maintaining local communities and building sustainable communities by optimally utilizing limited human and material resources. This is the time to establish optimal use of our limited human and material resources for maintaining local communities and building sustainable communities.
In May 2014, the Japan Creation Council (chaired by Hiroya Masuda) released a report that more than half (896) of the 1,800 municipalities in Japan could “disappear” by 2040, causing a huge shock. In response, in September of the same year, the government established the Headquarters for the Creation of New Town, New Human Resources, and New Work, and began full-scale efforts to create new regions. Since then, several policies have been put forward to actively utilize the SDGs in regional development.
＃2. Social, Economic, and Environment x SDGs
The SDGs are about viewing “economy,” “society,” and “environment” as inseparable, and using the issues faced by each of them as inputs to create new value while solving them.
We believe that the concept of “design thinking,” which architectural design firms like ours are best at, will come into play. Design Thinking is not only used in the design process, but also in the management and business development of global companies such as Apple, Google, P&G, etc. In recent years, Japanese companies have also become more interested in this way of thinking due to changes in the market structure. It is composed of five major processes.
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
The process of creating new products and services through repeated trial and error and testing with actual customers and users is a process in which stakeholders, such as companies and organizations like ours, gather information on issues from local residents and governments, define issues and needs, come up with ideas, create prototypes based on those ideas, and test them on actual customers and users. Design Thinking is characterized by its ability to think from the standpoint of the users of the product or service, and to seek fundamental solutions, rather than simply solving problems and issues that have surfaced.
From these points of view, we can say that “sustainability,” which is the basis of the SDGs, is a good match for “utilization of idle assets.
■SDGs around the world
In the world, there are many SDG achievements with resilience and coexistence as keywords. It can be said to be a picture of individuals, communities, organizations, businesses, and social systems achieving sustainable growth while adapting to social challenges, and to address the issue of how to create a common identity and emotional attachment for local residents with different backgrounds. We have been working with not only local residents but also other stakeholders such as corporations, NGOs, universities, and the third sector under the concept of “collaboration and co-creation”.Here, we would like to introduce the case of Veile, Denmark as one example amongst the SDGs in the world.
Veile（Denmark）
Veile is located in the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula, bordering Germany on the continental side of Europe. It is the only city in Scandinavia to be selected as one of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). 100RC is a project initiated by the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States in 2013. The foundation selects 100 cities from around the world, and with the support of the foundation, formulates a resilience strategy and builds an international network. Kyoto City and Toyama City were selected from Japan.
Back in Veile, in 2016, the strategy was formulated under the slogan “A sustainable city for all”. In particular, it focuses on three areas: citizen participation, digitalization, and building social resilience. In recent years, the city has become a source of economic growth and innovation with the emergence of many IT companies and start-ups. In 2012, it was awarded as the city with the most advanced social integration with refugees in Denmark.
There are five major challenges facing Veile.
① Climate change and flood risk (many floods and unexpected heavy rains have occurred in recent years)
② Urbanization (impact on the natural environment due to increased traffic)
③ Increased needs for infrastructure (IT to support digital life, aging of existing infrastructure)
④ Changes in industrial structure, global economy (impact on local employment)
⑤ Demographic change (weakening of social bonds)
The following four strategies were identified as approaches to the problem.
❶A city where co-creation is born
❸ A city that is flexible to climate change
❸ Socially resilient cities
❹ Smart city
“Co-creation” is what Veile is focusing on the most as “citizen engagement and co-creation”. Specifically, Veile has set up a welfare laboratory to support citizens with disabilities living in the facilities by holding art festivals with experts in various fields. In addition, an expo is scheduled to be completed in 2040 to display the challenges Vaile is facing and how to solve them, and a living laboratory is being developed to implement solutions in collaboration with various Stakeholders.
Next is “climate change”. Water has always been a symbol of the city and a part of life, as evidenced by the fact that the name Veile is derived from the word meaning “fjord” and that people settled in the valley of a tributary of the Vaile River in the 12th century. However, due to recent climate change, it is estimated that the fjord facing the city will rise by 25 cm by 2050 and 69 cm by 2100. The water, which is a symbol for Veile, has become a source of disaster risk. In order to minimize the risk of flooding, plans are underway to redevelop the waterfront area facing the fjord and to install water level control equipment. We are also making efforts to promote the use of bicycles. The use of bicycles reduces CO2 in the atmosphere, improves the health and wellbeing of citizens, and reduces the social cost of gasoline-run vehicles. Plans are also underway to build a bike path in the center of the city.
Lastly, “Resilient and Smart Cities”, in other words, aims to ensure the safety and security of the city while integrating with the ever-increasing number of immigrants, strengthen the connection between the younger generation and society, and create shareable resources with the public and private sectors.
For example, a citizen’s farm program called “Grow Veile” provides citizens who do not have a garden with the opportunity to rent a field and grow organic crops with less environmental impact, and the city’s police, schools, nurses, businessmen, and counselors work together to develop programs and tools to combat crime and identify suspicious people. A variety of initiatives are being planned and implemented to help new and old citizens develop an identity with the city and strengthen their ties to society.
At Veile, people with different expertise from the private sector, government, research institutions, and the third sector gather to realize co-creation, and think and develop new ideas and services to address the issues. From this, we can see how they are not just developing solutions, but also approaching and interacting with local residents.
The various approaches promoted by Denmark and Veile, including the creation of a “public-private collaboration space” in the form of a living laboratory, can be said to be very helpful for the utilization of idle assets.
