Maison Hermès
In 1998, French fashion house Hermès commissioned RPBW to design its Japanese headquarters in Tokyo's Ginza district. Located on a narrow lot along Harumi-dori, the building had to adhere to strict regulations due to the area’s density and earthquake/fire concerns. The resulting 15-story structure, measuring 45 meters long by 11 meters wide, was designed with a distinctive glass façade. It houses a shop, offices, exhibition spaces, and access to the underground station, offering a blend of retail, workspaces, and multimedia areas. The building’s compact design fits harmoniously within Tokyo's vibrant, neon-lit surroundings.
An innovative solution for a complex site
The slim building, only 10m wide on its Harumi Avenue frontage, runs back 56m along a quiet side street, and rises 10 storeys high. It has a unique glass façade made of 13,000 bespoke, 450mm-square glass blocks (with special smaller, curved glass bricks at the building’s corners). Much larger than standard glass blocks, these were especially made by Vetroarredo in Florence, Italy and had to meet stringent fire and earthquake regulations. Their stamped textured glass finish means they are translucent rather than transparent, the overall effect of the facade being somewhat like a contemporary version of the traditional Japanese screen.
A technically and materially innovative building
The design of the Hermès headquarters in Tokyo incorporates an innovative glass block façade, which is suspended from the structure using steel arms. This distinctive feature is engineered to absorb seismic shock in the event of an earthquake. The glass blocks are flexible and can shift up to 4mm thanks to the flexible seals between them, ensuring that the building moves rather than resists seismic forces. The translucent membrane screens the upper office floors and the upper levels of the shop, creating a uniform, uninterrupted exterior from top to bottom.
The ground-level frontage, in contrast, features clear glass bricks that frame product displays, allowing a glimpse into the store. Along the tiny Harumi Avenue side of the building, full-height conventional shop display windows appear, offering a traditional retail experience. The glass façade consists of 13,000 square modules, each 45 cm in size, designed to resemble droplets of molten glass, uniquely rippled under pressure. This surface tension-driven design complements the building’s structural integrity, as the glass blocks rest on frames with a 4mm movement capacity, ensuring each module’s ability to absorb seismic forces through independent lateral motion, maintaining the building's stability while enhancing its visual impact.
Integrating new spaces and functionalities while preserving architectural continuity
Inside, the Hermès Tokyo headquarters spans four floors from the ground to the third floor, hosting the retail space, while ateliers and offices are situated above. A double-height exhibition space occupies the seventh floor, showcasing a blend of art and craftsmanship. At the top of the building, a planted courtyard garden sits sheltered under the glass block façade, offering tranquility without visible intrusion from the street. The layout reflects a careful division of private, public, and exhibition spaces in response to the surrounding environment and the building's complex structure.
Services and circulation are discretely located along the back edge of the building within an opaque strip along the party wall. The glass façade subtly stops at the curved edge, revealing the escape stair and delineating the building's boundaries. In 2002, Hermès requested an expansion that would seamlessly integrate with the existing structure, resulting in a larger entryway and more space on the first, fifth, and sales floors. Additionally, dressing rooms were expanded, and the “Le Studio” cinema on the tenth floor was enlarged. This extension was executed with precision, completing the design in October 2006 without interrupting the original architectural harmony, preserving the fluidity and functionality of the headquarters.
Details on Foundation website
Project Details
Status
Client
Hermès Japon
Design
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architectsin collaboration with Rena Dumas Architecture Intérieure (Paris)
Phase One (1998-2001)
Design Team
P.Vincent (partner in charge), L.Couton with G.Ducci, P.Hendier, S.Ishida (partner), F.La Rivière and C.Kuntz; C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models)
Consultants
Ove Arup & Partners (structure and services); Syllabus (cost control); Delphi (acoustics); Ph. Almon (lighting); R. Labeyrie (audio/video equipment); K. Tanaka (landscape); Atelier 10/N.Takata (code research); ArchiNova Associates (site supervision)
Consulting Executive Architect
Takenaka Corporation Design Department
Sculpture
S. Shingu
Phase Two (2002-2006)
Design Team
P.Vincent (partner in charge), F.La Rivière; O.Aubert, C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models)
Consultants
GDLC Architectes/L. Couton (consulting architect); Ove Arup & Partners (structure and services); Delphi (acoustics); Ph. Almon (lighting); K. Tanaka (landscape); M. Gonzalez (specifications); ArchiNova Associates (site supervision); Takenaka Corporation Design Department (consulting executive architect)
