Maison Hermès

Maison Hermès, Tokyo, by Renzo Piano is the corporate headquarters and retail store for Hermès Japan. The program includes offices, workshops, retail and exhibition spaces, multimedia areas and a roof garden. The building also includes access to the subway via a courtyard which divides the long façade in two. It is an elegant, glowing, rectangular form which has been carefully crafted from specially designed 45cm x 45cm glass blocks which give the impression of the building as a precious object containing equally precious objects. Renzo Piano stated that the building was inspired by traditional Japanese lanterns. The thickness of the glass façade blurs the activity within during the day and at night the building glows from the light within whilst simultaneously providing acoustic insulation from the bustling Ginza streets outside. Clear glass boxes become display cases for Hermès products at street level.