bold sculpted volumes shape stationary store in tokyo by MET team architects

"Designed by Angel Estevez of MET Team Architects, the Tokyo Flagship Shop for Japanese stationery brand PLOTTER occupies a narrow urban site, where the store's sculpted facade emerges as two interlocking volumes. The brand is known for its minimalist leather binders that reinterpret the traditional notebook, and this dual-volume composition, one symbolizing the past and the other the future, anchors both the architectural concept and the brand narrative."

"The architectural idea by MET Team Architects' Angel Estevez is described as an 'embrace' and brings these two volumes into a spatial relationship that reflects PLOTTER's balance between tradition and innovation. Rather than being read as separate elements, the masses interlock and support one another, generating a dynamic interior organization. A skip-floor system replaces conventional levels, allowing the space to unfold vertically as a continuous sequence and guiding visitors upward through the narrow footprint."

"Material choices reinforce the connection between product and place. A washi paper ceiling introduces a tactile softness, while a leather-wrapped counter extends from the entrance to the upper floors, functioning simultaneously as display surface, circulation guide, and handrail. This continuous element anchors the spatial experience, turning movement through the store into a tactile journey. Within its limited dimensions, the flagship becomes an immersive architectural expression of PLOTTER's design philosophy."

PLOTTER's Tokyo Flagship Shop, designed by Angel Estevez of MET Team Architects, occupies a narrow urban site and presents two interlocking volumes that symbolize past and future. The volumes embrace one another, creating a dynamic interior where masses interlock and support a continuous skip-floor sequence that guides visitors upward through the compact footprint. Material choices establish tactile links to the product: a washi paper ceiling adds softness while a leather-wrapped counter extends from entrance to upper floors, serving as display, circulation guide, and handrail. Strict height regulations prompted identity through form rather than scale, producing an immersive retail environment aligned with PLOTTER's minimalist binder design.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine