Department Store in Tokyo
Located in a heterogeneous area of the city, the new headquarters of Hermès in Tokyo is remarkable for its extensive glass-block facade. At night, the building resembles a huge, shimmering lantern. The 15-storey structure has a footprint 45 × 11 m in size and a total floor area of roughly 6,000 m². It houses sales and exhibition spaces, offices, workshops, film-showing facilities, a small museum and a roof garden. A recess in the long face of the building forms a small forecourt, from where there is lift access to the underground railway. The curtain-wall facade consists of 45 × 45 cm glass blocks specially manufactured for this building, with smaller blocks around the curved corners. Where multi-storey spaces occur, the facade is additionally anchored to the steel supporting structure. With its clear references to Chareau’s Maison de Verre in Paris, the facade reacts sensitively to changing light conditions. Minor irregularities in the glass surface enliven the interplay of transparency, reflection, texture and shadow. By applying the principles of traditional temple construction and inserting viscoelastic dampers at strategic points of the steel load-bearing structure, it was possible to limit displacements and reduce the risk of damage to the facade. Any deformation is spread evenly over the entire elements of the building. The innovative joints between the glass blocks, for example, can absorb deformation of up to 4 mm. All these aspects are in accordance with the strict Japanese seismic regulations.
