Expressing the value of handwork by superimposing a space, works, and people

A 40-year old building was entirely renovated into an atelier/gallery of a clothing brand YAMMA. The main focus was how to design a large multipurpose space at the center of the building. This space is used as a workroom for packing and dispatching clothes, a gallery for holding fashion shows and exhibitions, and most importantly a gathering place of many people involved in this brand.

This brand appreciates the human touch of handwork in all processes including designing, manufacturing, and maintenance. In my view, the brand's key value is to offer "something special" generated between humans through handwork. This space should be naturally designed to communicate the feeling of "something special."

At the end of the design process, we came up with an idea of a space like a train station. It is a kind of "node" where people's movements interesect and a place where many people meet and gather, but it becomes completely empty at the end. This design is based on our idea that the brand will serve as a platform to create that "something special" generated through human interaction. This space was named "EKI" (station).

Beams from the old wooden building were reused and featured as the main design elements in the structure. The curved roof were made using the traditional miyadaiku carpentry techniques. The space is finished with materials with a sense of warmth and calmness, and antique objects brought to this space by some kind of fate are displayed there.

Subtle expressions of each of these elements and architecture that surrounds them are superimposed, and all things involved in this space express the brand identity of "YAMMA."

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