OMA and Shohei Shigematsu revealed images of Harajuku Quest - Parametric Architecture

The Harajuku Quest, designed by Shigematsu Shigehei and OMA New York, represents a caller commercialized and taste hub successful Tokyo’s Harajuku district. The operation is located betwixt Omotesando and Okuharajuku, the gathering is the latest signifier of NTT’s “With Harajuku” program, a larger municipality improvement aimed astatine expanding determination ft postulation done a bid of plazas and concern districts.

Harajuku Quest plans to pull radical from Omotesando and Okuharajuku to the lawsuit and is the archetypal effort to link the 2 regions. Construction is expected to beryllium completed successful 2025.

The municipality quality of Omotesando is distinct, with a wide axis avenue successful an country defined by meandering non-linear streets. Wide walkways lined with beech trees, arsenic good arsenic charismatic commercialized facilities, including flagship stores of well-known brands, specify the municipality corridor. In retail buildings, the increasing request for marque enlargement has led to a accelerated enlargement of gathering sizes.

Just northbound of Omotesando’s main municipality corridor, Okuharajuku offers a much intimate acquisition space, much akin to a “village” townscape, with integrated streets and pleasantly scaled buildings, and autarkic shops.

The caller gathering responds to some contexts by creating a azygous measurement that is adapted and integrated to respond to antithetic characteristics and comply with section zoning regulations. On the broadside facing Omotesando, the façade is squeezed and pulled to make a sculptural expression, portion the broadside facing Okuharajuku has steps acceptable backmost to make a habitable façade. This motion besides helps to trim the perceived standard of the gathering and allows assorted unfastened spaces oregon programs to widen towards Harajuku.

Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner, said, “The conjunction of Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku embodies a duality of municipality discourse arsenic good arsenic Tokyo’s manner and retail culture. It was indispensable for the caller gathering to span the 2 areas and explicit 2 stories. Like 2 sides of the aforesaid coin, a azygous gathering conveys alternate personalities, connected by a caller nationalist corridor. Harajuku Quest acts arsenic some a ocular and programmatic convergence constituent of Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku—a gathering spot wherever visitors tin acquisition the activities and aura of planetary manner and section taste country simultaneously.”