Dezeen Magazine

Bukiya by Archiee

Bukiya by Archiee

The display system at this Japanese souvenir shop in Paris is just key rings hung on screws in the walls.

Bukiya by Archiee

Japanese architects Archiee, who are based in the French capital, designed the Bukiya shop.

Bukiya by Archiee

Key rings are clipped onto each product so that they can be hung from the undulating walls in vertical or diagonal rows.

Bukiya by Archiee

Each of the 377 screws is numbered for reference.

Bukiya by Archiee

The counter is located within a rectangular room at the shop’s centre, which also conceals two structural columns.

Bukiya by Archiee

If you like this project, you might also be interested in a bicycle shop where recycled paper tubes display products.

Bukiya by Archiee

Photography is by Ryo Suzuki.

Bukiya by Archiee

Here's a little more explanation from Archiee:


Continuous-discrete (Japanese Souvenir Shop)

This is the renovation project for a boutique, located in Paris, that displays and sells traditional Japanese products.

Bukiya by Archiee

Simple grid

The project is based on a simple grid of Phillips screws that form the system for displaying the merchandise. There are a total of 377 screws, each having been individually screwed by hand in its allocated point. Each screw is accompanied by a simple clip, which allows the merchandise to be hung to the wall.

Bukiya by Archiee

Flexibility of the layout

The grid enables the boutique great flexibility with regard to the display of the merchandise. Depending on the scale of the object to be displayed, a single screw or a cluster of screws can be utilized. The products are to be displayed in specific, yet fluid, categories in order to convey a narrative to the customer.

Bukiya by Archiee

Composition of the space

In order to fulfill the grid, the project comprises of expansive and continuous wall surfaces. There are twodiscernible surfaces. The first surface is a smooth undulating surface that, being placed over the strange existing shape of the boutique, plays two fundamental roles, that of creating a minimal internal surface and that of directing the customer around the space. The second surface is a planar intervention that covers an existing concrete column and a steel column which are awkwardly close to each other. This makes use of what would otherwise be wasted space and also simplifies and facilitates the circulation around the boutique. To maximize space further, the cash register for the boutique is found within this planar intervention.

Bukiya by Archiee

Facade

The façade of the boutique has been kept as minimal as possible in order to create a dialogue between the interior and exterior space. As such, the facade becomes the initial boundary of the continuous undulating surface.

Bukiya by Archiee

Merchandise control

In order to identify the merchandise on display, each screw has a unique identification number printed next to it. This allows the boutique to keep track of the display, stocking, and selling of each item of merchandise. This identification number is purposefully kept visible on the wall as delicate decoration.

Bukiya by Archiee

Date: 2011
Area: 60m²
Type: interior
Programme: shop
Architects: Yusuke Kinoshita and Daisuke Sekine (Archiee)