Red Bunker and Red Tent Boutiques

Exterior view of the Red Tent boutique.

Project Details

• Project Name: The Red Bunker and Red Tent Boutiques
• Client: Bali Barret Japan / Sazaby Inc.
• Project Type: Retail Design
• Principal Designer: Franklin Azzi Architecture
• Date of commencement of project: July 2004
• Date of completion of project: September 2004
• Location of site: Tokyo, Japan
• Contractor: Sazaby Inc.
• Built-up Area: 140 square meters (Red Bunker), 110 square meters (Red Tent)
• Cost of Execution: 300,000 Euros (Red Bunker), 250, 000 Euros (Red Tent)

View into the Red Bunker through the crenel like opening in its facade.

The Building

The project entailed the design of two boutiques in Tokyo.

Concepts and resultant designs were driven by an attempt to impose the urban space with an out of context archetype.

Military typologies from the second world war were thus adopted for both the shops.

The structures coupled with the trademark red color of the company allows the boutiques to create a distinct retail identity without getting monotonous or predictable.

A stark red helps establish the identity of both -- the client and the boutique.

The Red Bunker boutique in Tokyo is inspired in its design by army bunkers built along the Atlantic coast during the Second World War.

However unlike these, the boutique announces its presence through its stark red facade, emerging as a point of reference in the urban context.

View of the interiors of the 'bunker'.

It is conceived of as a singular volume with only a crenel-like horizontal opening providing visual access into the boutique.

A high degree of opacity and lack of information in the facade is thus achieved in an attempt to increase the curiosity of the passer-by.

A bunker as a building typology is marked by the complete absence of any foundations to allow for movement and adaptation to changes in the landscape.

The facades of the Red Bunker are thus tilted slightly to reflect this.

View of the Red Bunker within its urban context.

The traditional defense system of a bunker is imitated in the interiors of the shop.

Three loopholes in the walls of it's facades open onto the primary and secondary streets flanking it.

The ambience is further accentuated by maintaining a low ceiling coupled with poor visibility into the exteriors through the crenels.

The Red Tent is realized in oiled fabric.

It is realized in concrete which was cast in a single go to allow for the absence of holes or joints and create a compact structure.

The Red Bunker and Red Tent Boutiques - Isometric View: Red Bunker [opens in a pop-up window - 21.4kb image]

View into the shop through its main entrance.

The second of Bali Barret's boutiques in Tokyo is inspired by the military tent with its facade constructed in red oiled fabric held down by leather straps and suspended by a metallic structure.

Sand bags are used to hold the fabric down at the bottom. A metallic chamber marks the entrance to the boutique.

Openings in the facades are provided with block outs on the outside much like the conventional tent.

View of the interiors of the shop padded in a white fabric.

A perfect rectangular space is drawn out inside and the interiors uniformly padded with a white fabric.

The Red Bunker and Red Tent Boutiques - Isometric View: Red Tent [opens in a pop-up window - 16.5kb image]

Credits

• Text: Courtesy of the architect
• Photographs: Courtesy of the architect
• Compiled and edited by Varun Ajani