Jo Nagasaka & Schemata Architects Removed the Facade of JINS' Ageo Flagship

JINS, one of Japan’s biggest eyewear brands recently commissioned Jo Nagasaka and the renowned Schemata Architects to overhaul its Ageo flagship in Tokyo. The result? A makeover befitting of the company’s twelve-year anniversary celebration.

While the existing shop consisted of two L-shaped blocks — an eyewear shop and corresponding cafe — around a square courtyard, the building’s wooden paneling meant you couldn’t really enjoy the beauty of the space unless you were physically in it. So, naturally, Nagasaka’s solution was to remove the paneling altogether, replacing the exterior walls with Low-E paired glass. By doing so, visitors can not only see the courtyard from the streets, but they can easily see into the shop itself — appropriate given that JINS is in the business of giving its own customers a better view of things, too. Schemata even took things a step further and exposed the skeleton of the interior as well, offsetting new walls from the original wall lines and finishing them with brick tiles and independently designed shelves, furniture and fixtures. The architecture firm also enlisted the help of graphic design office KIGI “to introduce visual elements in the shop so that the products and the space can relate to each other in a free and independent way.”

JINS
957-1 Futatsumiya, Ageo-shi
Saitama, Tokyo
Japan