GYRE

architechu

A touch of magic

Omotesando is a luxury street in Tokyo, Japan, similar to Apgujeong Cheongdam area in Seoul, Korea. Each building houses one brand, and one of the strong characteristics here is that spaces nest here in a way that symbolizes the brand. Bringing in the story of Omotesando Hills, which was introduced recently, another characteristic to mention is that this place is like a canvas for world-famous architects.

Today's space 'GYRE' is the work of the world-renowned architectural group MVRDV (A Yang Lookout, Seoulro 7017, The Print of Incheon Paradise Hotel, Cheongha Building, etc.), which is also well known in Korea.

Similar to Omotesando Hills, the main feature of this street is that it goes beyond the main feature of this street and becomes a complex cultural space where various retail stores and cultural spaces can be accommodated. It is a space that has abandoned the strongest characteristics, but at the same time, it is a place that pursues new challenges. Excluding the face of the building symbolizing the brand and intending to allow the building itself to have a symbolic appearance, the way the building's masses are composed shows traces of thinking about how to activate this corner point in the city.

Although it is not a square-shaped land, by placing rectangles on relatively organized land and stacking each floor by twisting, the building's masses are carved to create terrace spaces with jagged shapes on each floor. And the unique strengths of the entrance on the first floor are most strongly revealed.

The surface of the first floor entrance area is not flat with the road but inclined to extend the sidewalk area and at the same time, it is configured to open up towards the famous street 'Cat Street' in the back. It also plans various routes so that users can directly access the underground and 1st floor spaces through the open gap. By providing users with various pathways and open spaces for users to understand the context of urban organization and create a unique approach and maximum customer potential.

The main vertical movement method of this twisted space is an escalator that vertically penetrates the center of the entire building mass. Since it is stacked in a twisted state on each floor, the area of intersection that can penetrate from the underground to the ground floor at once is reduced, but there is no shortage for experiencing the unique views created on the 1st floor and each floor. However, the central vertical movement method was not inferior.

MVRDV, which is also active in Korea, is well-suited to explain the building that can better illustrate the 'diagram architecture'. It observes people's daily lives within the city and experiments with form logic based on the data obtained. The space user [client and user] and the spacialist [architect] draw diagrams [schematic drawings that explain the development process through simple shapes or demonstrate the validity of the spatial composition] to understand each other efficiently in the process and data.

More than the summarized content of 'diagram architecture', it needs to be told in much more detail to be conveyed, but today's story focuses on how a twist created by a touch of wit can change the way a space is used and make the experience of the experiencer richer. If we have the opportunity to deal with their space next time, we will talk about it.

This is GYRE in Omotesando, Tokyo, rich in a touch of wit.

📍Location: 4 Chome-12 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan
⏰Business hours: 11:00 am to 12:00 am
💃🏻🕺🏻Scenes of the space: art gallery, prop shop, cafe, MoMA design shop, Maison Margiela, Chanel, Hey Tokyo, and many more
🚗Parking available