{"id":181115,"date":"2025-12-08T13:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/181115\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:48:14","slug":"klein-dytham-shapes-aluminium-into-drape-of-fabric-for-cartier-ginza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/181115\/","title":{"rendered":"Klein Dytham shapes aluminium into “drape of fabric” for Cartier Ginza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture<\/a> has designed the facade for jewellery brand Cartier<\/a>‘s Ginza store, which features swooping aluminium curves designed to evoke a wedding dress.<\/p>\n

The studio wanted its design to stand out among the bustling streets of Tokyo<\/a>‘s central Ginza district, which are surrounded by linear rows of skyscrapers.<\/p>\n

\"GinzaKlein Dytham wanted to bring a “gentle, sculptural calm” to Ginza<\/p>\n

“The concept was to bring a gentle, sculptural calm to Ginza’s highly geometric streetscape by introducing a facade that feels fluid, soft, and sophisticated,” Klein Dytham<\/a> co-founder Mark Dytham told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Rather than compete with the vertical rhythm around it, the design uses layered, flowing forms to create an elegant sense of depth and anticipation.”<\/p>\n

\"Close-upBespoke aluminium panels wrap the facade<\/p>\n

To create the curved shapes, Dytham and his co-founder, Astrid Klein, wrapped the facade in bespoke panels made from cast aluminium that were designed to resemble the drape of a wedding dress.<\/p>\n

“The sweeping curves create a sense of movement and softness, recalling a silky drape of fabric and giving the building a quiet, sculptural presence within the busy urban context,” Dytham said.<\/p>\n

“They also catch and reflect light throughout the day, allowing the facade to subtly transform as people pass by.”<\/p>\n

\"CartierThe new design contrasts against the existing vertical louvres<\/p>\n

By using gentle curves for the facade design, the studio also helped to dissolve the fire-compartment lines between floors to create a more seamless look.<\/p>\n

Klein Dytham’s design, which is anchored by a rectangular frame that borders the vertical louvres of the existing facade, comprises three stepped layers: cast aluminium panels, flat aluminium panels and a glass layer.<\/p>\n

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Klein Dytham Architecture creates intricate wooden shop front for Cartier\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Cartier’s bespoke Moon Gold hue \u2013 a pale gold tone \u2013 was used for the colour of the panels.<\/p>\n

The hue changes depending on how the light falls on the facade during the day, looking more silvery in the morning and warmer in the evening.<\/p>\n

\"CartierCartier Ginza’s facade colour shifts with the light<\/p>\n

Aluminium was chosen as the main material for the facade because of its versatility.<\/p>\n

“Aluminium allowed us to achieve the precise triple-curved geometry essential to the facade’s softness while offering durability, lightness, and a beautifully refined finish that meets Cartier’s exacting standards,” Dytham explained.<\/p>\n

“Its versatility was crucial in developing the cast and flat-panel layers that give the facade its depth.”<\/p>\n

\"DetailedA Seigaiha pattern decorates the glass on the facade<\/p>\n

For the glass layer, the studio created a geometric print that draws on the traditional Japanese Seigaiha motif, a pattern of overlapping concentric circles.<\/p>\n

“The Seigaiha pattern \u2013 symbolising waves and good fortune \u2013 introduces a distinctly Japanese tactility and cultural resonance to the innermost glass layer, especially as sunlight filters through and gently projects the motif into the interior,” Dytham said.<\/p>\n

The project marks Klein Dytham’s second design for Cartier, with the pair previously having designed an intricate wooden shop front for the brand in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi shopping area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other recent projects in Ginza featured on Dezeen include a Jun Aoki-designed Tiffany store cloaked in curving glass panels<\/a> and a department store lounge by I IN drenched in Edo purple<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Raphael Olivier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/p>\n

Facade designer: Klein Dytham Architecture
General contractor: Taisei Corporation
Facade engineer: Permasteelisa Japan
Lighting design: Illumination of City Environment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture has designed the facade for jewellery brand Cartier‘s Ginza store, which features swooping aluminium…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,98483,308,93,61,60,582,98484,4674,814,815,6627],"class_list":{"0":"post-181115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-cartier","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-japan","18":"tag-klein-dytham-architecture","19":"tag-retail","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-tokyo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}