Located within the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC), a new shop for the Japanese company JINS Eyewear designed by Tokyo-based architect Junya Ishigami has neither street frontage nor facade. It doesn’t even have a front door. Instead, the entrance opens completely to the building’s internal mall, with shutters for nighttime security. In effect, the public corridor serves as the shop’s circulation, since customers must exit into it to move between the counters—thick slabs of concrete that appear to float effortlessly above the floor. Creating a fluid retail space, these suspended surfaces enable people to roam freely with unobstructed views of the inventory: 1,000 pairs of trendy frames.
There are five concrete counters, measuring 26, 36, or 39 feet long; three are designated for display, while the other two are for the sales and “while-you-wait” assembly of the glasses. Mirrors and an eye-exam area hug the rear walls, with a back office occupying the only enclosed space.
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