This is a study for an eighteen story mixed use tower for Kobe. We have tried to search for a way to revitalise the area in front of one of Kobe’s substations by developing a programme for a building that is both commercially as well as visually attractive. We believe that the future of retail depends on innovation in spatiality of consumption by breaking open the retail boxes that are littering our cities and build something that attracts and makes people come back.

The building is connected to the station through an underground passage as well as through an existing overpass. At the back of the building there is a traditional Japanese style covered, shopping street, to which the building is connected from the side. The programme asked for a division into three  zones: retail, restaurants and residences. The first 6 floors consists of retail shops and restaurants. Various shoebox-like spaces are stacked on top of one another. By slightly twisting these boxes we leave space for terraces and connecting entrances. The larger retail spaces contain fast-retail fashion companies while the smaller boxes are for individual brand shops. Above the retail zones the building is split into two residential towers. 

By stacking the boxes and leaving space in between them, we are able to maximise the building plot-ratio but also creating individuality to the various spaces. The variety of boxes and routes through the building will make it feel like being inside a small village. Once visitors reach the top they can enjoy spectacular views over the Kobe harbour, with equally spectacular views back down into the building itself. An ultimate capitalist dream machine. 

Keywords: Kobe, Floating Garden, Shopping Architecture Japan, Retail,  Dreaming