GINZA LOFT

We designed a new Ginza flagship for LOFT, a household goods specialty store. Our aim was to design interior spaces where customers feel like staying for a long time and strolling around thoroughly.

The store occupies spaces from the third to sixth floors in a building, with each floor carrying a different merchandize category.

Each floor has a floor area of approximately 990 m2, and escalators are located at the center of the large space. Since the spatial depth of sales areas would be too large if the original layout was to be used as it was, our design started by locating a large “ring road” or a main customer circulation around the escalators and located sales areas on both sides of the circulation with the equal spatial depth as much as possible. Places where people gather, such as cash register areas and labs, are located in the areas at the far ends of the floor, intending to activate customers’ movements by extending the circulation in the X direction. These areas are designed in unique ways to attract people’s attention, and some of the labs are designed and fabricated using 3-D printing by DUS architects from the Netherlands.

Different materials and shapes are used to make display shelves according to the types of merchandise handled on each floor, so that customers can enjoy the difference between all floors as well as the entire traveling sequence. 
The 3rd floor is composed of curve-shaped display shelves placed in the concentric layout; the 4th floor is equipped with box-shaped display shelves composed of a combination of white-painted wood boxes and lauan wood boxes, laid out along the 45-degree axis; the 5th floor is composed of steel racks that are functional yet simple in the extreme; the 6th floor offers a flexible floor layout composed of a combination of boxes and pallets. The store environment with a rich variety of design features offers customers joyful shopping experiences throughout all the floors, while the consistency of the basic composition creates a unified store identity.

3D printed interiors are making their way into department stores The interior design of the new Loft Flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo features exclusive 3D printed furniture designed by DUS: A unique exploration in 3D printing, novel materials, and traditional crafts.

Tailor-printed Architecture firm DUS has a vast expertise in architectural 3D printing, and is now also applying its expertise to interiors and retail spaces. “3D printing is an ideal technique to tailor-produce to a space or a brand,” says Inara Nevskaya, head designer at DUS. “We can link a furniture’s functionality with unique form features to create statement pieces, special focal points that frame new experiences for the consumer in the retail landscape.”

3D printing allows for unparalleled design explorations: “We had the liberty to design without conventional restraints. For this design, we found great inspiration in Japanese folding and drawing techniques, which resulted in cyclic printed patterns with delicate harmonious changes.”

Because of the digital design and production, the design process was quick and flexible. The one of a kind products where digitally shared and aligned with the client, and then 3D printed in their final form.. A great advantage is the high level of sustainable production, as the prints are made with a bio plastic and there is hardly any waste in the process.

New furniture typologies Architect Jo Nagasaka of Schemata was responsible for the 3306 m2 overall interior design of the Loft Flagship store. He asked DUS to come up with ‘novel 3D printed furniture’. Clients Loft acknowledged the importance as a household name warehouse to always find new ways to distinguish themselves and show their products. DUS responded by developing 6 bespoke settings that bring out the highlights from each product category. DUS combined 3D prints with new and known materials influenced by traditional techniques, resulting in entirely new functions and tactile features:

The Landscape Table is in the ‘innovation lab’ area, it is a statement piece that can double up as boardroom- or reading table. The 3,60 m long table can also be divided into 3 separate parts. The design combines a 3D printed structure with epoxy resin, shaping a rippling 3-dimensional landscape that occasionally emerges from the translucent surface. The sculpted pattern creates special functional moments to display brochures, magazines or objects.

The Vanity Corner allows visitors to directly try products from the surrounded shelving. The tabletop and stool-surfaces merge 3D printed patterns with a classic terrazzo infill, bringing an entirely new graphic dimension to the traditional stone material. The tabletop pattern takes inspiration from the ritual of bathing and zen gardens and has a custom-made brass washbasin and facet.

The Workshop Area creates an intimate playful setting to host workshops. It shows the unifying impact of a continuous 3D printed pattern in all the interior elements, from the terrazzo table top to the black epoxy stools and even the concrete floor, creating one harmonious setting.

The Juice Bar in the ‘healthy cooking’ section forms a stage for the juicers and kitchen machines that also stand in the surrounding shelving. The open design is inspired by Japanese paper screens. The printed 3-dimensional panels are detailed in such a way that the bar appears as one monolith structure. The surface appears solid, but, on a closer look, it opens up showing refined patterns playing with light, texture and colours.

The Writing Counter is specially tailored to display pens and pencils. It showcases the possibilities of digital fabrication to create unique moments adapted to the product. A thin metal writing surface is grounded by a sculptural monolithic 3D printed volume with open top, which serves as a display element for stationary items.

This project marks DUS’ entrance to designing 3D printed solutions for private, public and commercial interior spaces. All the elements and materials were developed and produced in close collaboration with Aectual, a company specialised in 3D printed interior and building products, which will launch its first line of products during Dutch Design Week 2017.