[A-025]Heim Jens

2023
Tokyo
Kiyosumi Shirakawa

When we visit an exhibition of the fashion brand Jens, we go for the clothes, but we also look forward to experiencing the spatial composition created by the designer, Toru Muto. The more we observe his carefully interpreted and reinterpreted spaces, enhanced by impromptu arrangements and elements of bricolage, the more we’re drawn into his thought process.

When Muto approached us with the idea of creating a boutique that feels like a home, we were certain it would center around the concept of shitsurai—the practice of room arrangement.

As architects, it felt right to provide the bones and skin for a space that feels both playful and inviting.

The original terra cotta tiles on the floor were left intact. Several rails and curved aluminum pipes were added as structural elements—bones, if you will. This was nearly all the architectural intervention required. We then draped soft, textured fabric around most of the walls, applied to wallpaper, and laid a vibrant blue carpet.

In this softly upholstered space, Muto arranged furniture and fittings he had meticulously sourced from various places, each in search of a home: a dresser, a mattress with legs, a slipper rack, a full-length mirror, cushions, a bench, a coffee table, an umbrella stand, silverware, and a tulip-shaped lamp.

What sets this space apart from a regular home is the absence of a closet. With nowhere to go, the clothing and jewellery drift, quietly revealing their presence.
Let’s cap the ends of the aluminium pipes with champagne corks. We could also hang floor lamps from the beams and turn them into chandeliers. This way, all the furniture and objects in the room will connect like constellations, creating a unique sense of individuality for the home. Adolf Loos once said something along those lines, didn’t he?