Wonderwall Inc.
At the opposite end of the spectrum from North American big-box stores are the conceptually driven and exquisitely realized retail designs of Masamichi Katayama.
Masamichi Katayama and his Tokyo-based firm, Wonderwall Inc., create stores with a focus on entertainment and experience—–not just dollars per square foot. Katayama is best known for the 45 (and counting) stores that he’s designed for the famed hip-hop clothing line A Bathing Ape (Bape), but Wonderwall’s client list also includes Dean & DeLuca, Uniqlo, and Meiji Seika, the Hershey’s chocolate of Japan. Even among the jewel-box boutiques and starchitect-designed flagships of Tokyo’s retail-crazed Aoyama and Daikanyama districts, Katayama’s interiors stand out. Their details are woven seamlessly into larger spatial narratives, and they’re seasoned with the designer’s trademark playfulness and penchant for experiential surprise.
Dwell visited Katayama in his Ebisu studio, where we discussed the delicate balance of comfort and challenge, context and concept, that defines Wonderwall’s popular style.
Articles
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Wonderwall Archives 01
Back in 2009 we ran a conversation with Masamichi Katayama about the incredible Japanese retail design outfit Wonderwall. We only showed a handful of photos to go with it, but now with the…
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Wonderwalls
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Conversations with Frank Gehry
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In Conversation with Graven Images
The best tour Senior Editor Aaron Britt got of Glasgow came, as one might expect, on foot. Ross Hunter and Jim Hamilton, two of the honchos at the multidisciplinary design firm Graven Images took him…
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In Conversation with Timorous Beasties
One of Senior Editor Aaron Britt's favorite stops when in Glasgow was the textile, wallpaper and design showroom of Timorous Beasties. They've been making chic, cheeky goods for about two decades…
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In Conversation with John Macleod
The two best restaurants Aaron Britt visited in Glasgow—in terms of both food and design—were the tony old Cafe Gandolfi and the newly opened Crabshakk. In this short video, he and owner / architect…
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Bruce Nussbaum in Conversation with Ezio Manzini
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Conversations in Design: Crowdsourcing Creativity and Community
The Interior Design Show will be hosting its second annual Conversations in Design Symposium on January 27th 2011 presented by Relative Space and The City of Toronto. Ten international thinkers…
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