Tokyo
Japan is the first country other than the United States to claim a MoMA Design Store. The 4,700-square-foot Museum of Modern Art retail space is situated on the third floor of Tokyo’s MVRDV-designed GYRE commercial development. GYRE, also known as The Swirl, is a seven-level composition of long box-like shapes that appear to be twisted around a vertical axis. Located along Tokyo’s Omotesando and Kyu Shibuya River Promenade, GYRE houses Chanel, Bulgari and other high-end boutiques and restaurants.
The MoMA Design Store’s orientation within the GYRE complex is formed to the non-orthogonal space. The store’s distinctive interior, designed in conjunction with 2X4 Inc., features a moiré graphic scheme printed onto glass walls that enclose the space. Flanking steel walls frame two main zones within the store: one for tall shelving fixtures and the other for a field of movable small display fixtures that are mounted onto tracks. The customized fixture track system allows for flexibility and various display configurations within the zone, and can be moved aside to open the space for special events.
Bent steel frames plasterboard to create the cashier area, which sits fore [in front of] a volume that houses a storage area. A nook for hikidemono, or the wedding registry, is tucked behind the cashier station.
