Tokyo, JP
The following interior design was realized for a retail store /cafe of a company which runs its own farm, featuring seasonal produce and items, such as dairy products, sweets and bread, made using milk form said farm as the main ingredient.
Since the distinctive characteristic of their products is the fact that fresh produce and milk produced at the farm is used in each and all of them, we were tasked with providing a space to attractively display said products by evoking the imagery associated with the farmstead and the fresh high quality seasonal produce and milk, which is a key ingredient of their dairy products, throughout the entire space.
The design of the YUME MARCHE (dream market) features the golden sun and green forest associated with the farmland where vegetables are gown and fresh milk is produced. The combination of these two elements lend the store its characteristic palette and create an imagery brimming with the vitality of yellow and green tones, which come together in a signature gradation that spreads throughout the whole space like a wave of color filled with lively movement.
Clusters of four-sided fixtures sticking out from the upper part of the wall offer an enlarged representation of a tree trunk's uneven surface, thus lending the space the energy of plain wood conferred by their wooden accents.
The white translucent board of the milk counter describes a wavy line that adds movement and conveys the vibrant appeal of fresh milk. Meanwhile, randomly spaced wooden tiles were affixed to the lower part of the counter and each of them was painted with a slightly different pattern by hand through a long process not unlike that observed in the making of hand-made dairy products. The size of the tiles was designed to feel conformable to the hand and represents our attempt at creating a counter with a warm and familiar atmosphere.
Interestingly, the wavy contours of the dairy product shelves appear to depict a cow's udder or a splash of milk and are intended to obtain a cute design and foster a feeling of fondness toward the products on display.
Moreover, fixtures found at the center of the store are made up of hexagonal units, which can be freely assembled to accommodate varying quantities and types of produce on sale each day. Furthermore, it is possible to change the plane configuration of the store by joining these units together into one large merchandise display shelf or spacing them out as smaller isolated stands. Therefore, by changing the layout of the store and its products from day to day, we are able to recreate the animated bustling of a farmer's market, while facilitating and enhancing the shopping experience of shoppers walking inside the store.
The counter and shelves express the freshness and vibrant force of milk, while the spirit of the sun and forest run as one through the store like a wave of color, thus lending the space a sense of unity and creating an imagery brimming with vitality.
YUME MARCHE Store is a space that sends a perspicuous image as a store seeking to make fresh and high quality products from dairy farm milk and seasonal produce, which is at the base of all their products.
Status: Built
Location: chiba.JP
Firm Role: Design
Additional Credits: Constructor: aslego
Photo: atsushi ishida