Schemata Architects Reimagines Le Labo's Tokyo Flagship With Tactile Wood and Concrete

Summary

• Local Japanese studio Schemata Architects has completely redesigned Le Labo’s Daikanyama store in Tokyo, which originally served as the brand’s first location outside the US
• The stunning interior revolves around a contrasting yet cohesive palette of raw concrete and traditional uzukuri-treated red cedar wood
• Repositioning the brand’s fragrance laboratory to the front of the store, the new layout proudly displays the intricate craft of perfume-making to the passing streetscape

After 18 years of continuous operation, Le Labo’s historic Daikanyama flagship—the renowned New York perfumery’s very first location outside the United States—has received a breathtaking architectural overhaul. Tasked with injecting a new sense of place into the space, local Tokyo-based studio Schemata Architects has transformed the boutique into a tactile celebration of craftsmanship. By masterfully blending the raw, industrial energy of the city with profound natural tranquility, the redesigned store offers an immersive, visually rich experience that perfectly complements Le Labo’s artisanal ethos.

The core objective of the extensive renovation was to spotlight the meticulous, hands-on craft behind the brand’s signature scents. To achieve this, Schemata Architects completely reworked the floor plan, moving the in-store fragrance laboratory from the back of the building directly to the front. Now positioned behind large, street-facing windows, the perfumers at work serve as a captivating, living display that warmly welcomes approaching customers and connects the shop directly to the surrounding urban environment.

When approaching the specific material palette, the design team drew directly from the client’s creative vision. “Le Labo proposed wood and concrete as materials,” the architects explained, “suggesting that the city’s defining characteristic lies in the blending of opposing forces: intense energy and profound tranquillity.” To realize this concept, the studio utilized red cedar treated with uzukuri, a traditional Japanese woodworking technique where softer early wood is methodically rubbed away to leave a highly pronounced, durable hard grain.

Taking a highly inventive, cyclical approach to construction, the architects used this uzukuri-treated cedar as the physical formwork for the store’s new architectural interventions. “By pouring concrete into formwork that emphasised the wood grain’s uneven texture, we produced precast panels where the grain was transferred onto the surface, which we then employed as walls,” the team noted. In a brilliant move of material cohesion, the exact same wooden formwork was then salvaged and repurposed to build the store’s display shelving and furniture.

Overhead, the original ceiling was stripped back to expose raw lighting recesses, vintage duct grooves, and historical formwork marks, honoring the building’s original reinforced concrete structure and reinforcing the overarching theme of the “process of making.”

By creating a seamless visual and physical dialogue between the rugged concrete walls and the richly textured cedar furniture, Schemata Architects has crafted a space deeply rooted in both Tokyo’s architectural identity and Le Labo’s dedication to the handmade. The newly renovated Daikanyama flagship is officially open to the public, offering a masterclass in modern, narrative-driven retail design.