schemata puts up furniture systems for HAY's temporary store in tokyo

schemata has completed a temporary store for danish interior design brand HAY in tokyo, which is set to remain open for only one year. created to keep growing day by day through collaborations with various designers, the space consists of various interfaces – sets of movable furniture systems – that instigate people’s activities.

all images by masataka nishi

the interfaces, which schemata has used to define the entire HAY store, are something between architecture and furniture, while their mechanism allows them to be moved around the space by the shop’s administrators. two main kinds of these systems can be found in the space: the first is a wall system composed of raceways perforated at every 1200mm along the entire length, installed at 1200 mm intervals and at the height of 2750 mm above floor level. wall panels can be placed anywhere on the structure using freestanding steel pipes, fixed in place through holes in the raceways, which carry wiring ducts for lighting and power supply to the floor using drum-type extension cords.

the second interface includes a series of furniture pieces that are too heavy to lift manually (but can still be moved using a hand-lift), including cash register counters, chair display shelves, and plant boxes. the two types of movable structures allow the space to be completely cleared overnight, except for the cafe area, to easily respond to specific requests, such as live performances or other events.

in designing the entrance area, schemata aimed at actively inviting people to go down to the basement by highlighting the street stairway which people had barely noticed before. the building in which HAY’s temporary store is located is currently undergoing renovation and is expected to change significantly in the next phase, while the stairway is soon to be demolished. ‘instead of guiding people using signs in omotesando, a district already overloaded with signs, we decided to draw people’s attention by doing something we are not supposed to do in this city–that is, to vividly spray-paint the entire stairway and the existing walls around it,’ explains the japanese studio.