Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a nine-story, timber-structure department store in Tokyo, presenting an elegant retail space that features several green-building practices.

Called the Shibuya Marui Department Store, the space is set to become a new showcase for sustainable lifestyle brands. Its design ensures the maximization of daylight and passive thermal comfort while using natural materials. 

“We are delighted to be working on such a ground-breaking and sustainable project, which is a stone’s throw away from the world-famous Shibuya Crossing,” said Foster + Partners Senior Executive Partner David Summerfield. “A timber structure will significantly reduce the embodied carbon of the building, while simultaneously creating a warm and open experience for visitors.”

The department store is inspired by traditional Japanese building techniques featuring a timber structure that greatly lowers the building’s embodied carbon and offers a distinctive presence in the area. Inside, the building features open-plan retail units with timber floors and exposed timber ceilings throughout. An additional steel structure reinforces the structure’s seismic performance. 

The western face of the building combines an expressed timber structure with a timber balustrade cladding, which the architects say achieves an optimal ratio of glazing on the façade, resulting in a significant reduction in solar gain. The east side of the building hosts the offset service core, which further reduces overall heat gain. The fluted glazing cladding provides a sense of lightness. 

A planted roof garden provides panoramic views of the surrounding area. It will feature a café and restaurant and has the potential to include an urban food farm in the future. The building is accessed through north and south entrances at ground level, which lead to the vertical circulation zone in the east via landscaped bamboo walkways and green walls.

The department store will be powered by renewable energy, generated partially from on-site photovoltaic panels. According to Foster + Partners, this will contribute to reducing operational and embodied carbon.