A lot has changed over the two decades in commercial architecture, and changes will most certainly continue. We see an opportunity for this 20-year-old building to put on a new “dress”, a dress that moves and changes with time, putting it in spotlight on the stage of Ginza.

Instead of large-scale construction to transform the existing building, we wanted to keep our intervention to the minimum, and cover the entire building with a large drape. The drape dances elegantly with the wind, and its gentle and loose form changes expression when it receives light from different angles. The outer drape can be slowly pulled up like a theatre curtain, revealing a multistoried “stage” that is wrapped with a translucent veil. The existing building is being given life, breathing, and moving like a living creature. From the streets of Ginza, the passersby will be moved with anticipation, wondering what goes on beneath the drapes, and what “performance” might they witness tonight.

We would not like the building to become a mere display case, which exists everywhere today in Ginza. Instead, we want to add the element of “movement” and “time” to preserve the elegance, mystery, and grandeur of the truly dazzling streets of Ginza.