The old main building of Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store had been a department store architecture symbolizing the commercial capital Osaka. It was a masterpiece of William Merrell Vories and was a valuable landmark in the area.
Although the old main building has high historic value, the department store function was significantly reduced after about 100 years since its completion, it was decided to be rebuilt to improve safety, enhance competitiveness as a flagship store, and create new activity.
The theme of this project is “Inheritance, Creation and Transmission”. We preserved the outer wall of the Midosuji Avenue side, in-situ, which has a high historic value. The new high-rise section is set back from the preserved wall, and the exterior screen uses the openwork geometric pattern seen on the preserved wall to harmonize with the preserved wall, inheriting the cityscape of Midosuji.
In the interior of the store, we repaired and reused the valuable original materials as much as possible. We made much of the balance of newly added designs and the designs that should be retained, and revived the extraordinary space that the department stores today were losing.
In addition, new landmarks are added, such as the relief of peacock revived, the aerial garden with the crystal tower, and the “Gate of Light” of Daihoji Street. They are created as new values by contrast and harmony with the preservation materials.
We hope that rich commercial cultures will accumulate and the activities continue to be transmitted together in Shinsaibashi area.
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We are very happy to offer support so please don’t hesitate to email Georgia, WAN Awards Event Coordinator with any questions at Georgia.Baily@haymarket.com.
Last year more than 40 countries took part in the WAN Awards with strong showings from Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. And we saw some truly outstanding projects, take a look at the winners from last year here.