One Omotesando
Completed in 2003, One Omotesando by Kengo Kuma is a seven-story commercial building that reinterprets urban architecture through the lens of natural materials. Serving as the head office for Louis Vuitton Japan, the building also houses high-end fashion boutiques on the first and second floors. Its façade, composed of vertical wooden fins, introduces warmth and texture to the dense Tokyo streetscape, softening the boundary between nature and the built environment.
At the time, Tokyo’s fire regulations restricted the use of wood in large-scale structures, making Kuma’s approach both bold and innovative. By integrating an advanced sprinkler system, he navigated these limitations while preserving the integrity of his material-driven design. The result is a structure that stands in contrast to the surrounding glass-and-steel buildings, offering a tactile, organic presence in the heart of Omotesando.
Completed in 2003, One Omotesando by Kengo Kuma is a seven-story commercial building that reinterprets urban architecture through the lens of natural materials. Serving as the head office for Louis Vuitton Japan, the building also houses high-end fashion boutiques on the first and second floors. Its façade, composed of vertical wooden fins, introduces warmth and texture to the dense Tokyo streetscape, softening the boundary between nature and the built environment.
At the time, Tokyo’s fire regulations restricted the use of wood in large-scale structures, making Kuma’s approach both bold and innovative. By integrating an advanced sprinkler system, he navigated these limitations while preserving the integrity of his material-driven design. The result is a structure that stands in contrast to the surrounding glass-and-steel buildings, offering a tactile, organic presence in the heart of Omotesando.
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