Page 83 - AIT0920_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Kamitopen, JP-Tokio
„Ich hoffe, dass das
Lächeln, das die
Herstellung von
Süßigkeiten auf die
Gesichter zaubert, sich
Grundriss Untergeschoss • Basement floor plan
von hier aus in ganz
Japan verbreitet.“
Kamitopen
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
Grundriss 1. Obergeschoss • Floor plan level +1
Grundriss 2. Obergeschoss • Floor plan level +2
Grundriss 3. Obergeschoss • Floor plan level +3 Schnitt • Section
Bauherr • Client Tomoshige Yoshida
Standort • Location Asakusa Taito-Ku, JP-Tokio
Nutzfläche • Floor space 198,71 m 2
Fotos • Photos Keisuke Miyamoto
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 126
HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
MAJIMAYA IN TOKYO
To provide the right tools for people who like to produce
sweets, Tomoshige Yoshida runs the Confectionery Tool
Shop on Kappabashi Street in Tokyo, which is famous for
kitchen supplies. The architects from Kamitopen have
now redesigned the almost 200 square metres in such
an original way that you can specifically equip yourself
with baking utensils or simply browse around.
I n addition to Japanese sweets, which have always been part of tradi-
tional tea ceremonies, the demand for bread and cakes increased at
the end of the Second World War as a result of the occupation of the
Asian region by the Americans. Saburo Yoshida — grandfather of the cur-
rent managing director of the Majimaya Confectionery Tool Shop — saw
potential in this development, took over one of the oldest tool shops for
confectionery production in the early 1950s and expanded the product
range. At the same time, he promoted traditional craftsmanship — an
approach that the company continues to pursue to this day and which
is also reflected in the store, which was redesigned by Kamitopen. Woo-
den moulds for the production of Wagashi, a traditional Japanese
sweet, are not only among the most popular products here, but they
also welcome visitors as artfully arranged wall decorations in the check-
out area. In the past, a craftsman even made individual forms of this
kind directly in the shop, which is why corresponding wooden tools are
also part of the range of goods. In addition, common metal cookie cut-
ters literally take centre stage. The entire stairwell, centrally located in
the narrow floor plan, is lined with wire mesh to provide a presentation
area for 3,000 different cookie cutters. Their numbering enables custo-
mers to easily take the equivalent of the selected shape from correspon-
dingly numbered metal boxes that follow the opposite side of the stair-
case. In this way, the architects created additional storage space on the
restricted floor space. A clever move, which is also evident in the split-
level layout. The latter is zoned by heavy-duty shelves made of black
cast iron and MDF boards. In their rustic, untreated, low-budget design,
they discreetly fade into the background as a calming influence in con-
trast to the display — consisting mostly of small baking utensils. At the
same time, the concept reveals the owner's desire to entice customers
to move up and down the levels by means of the shop design. An aspect
that reinforces the image of a paternoster, which the façade of the nar-
row, tall building made of Corten steel already conveys from a distance.
AIT 9.2020 • 083