HITA CITY.
This flagship shop of multi-brand apparel, Oharasando Building, is located in Hita city, Oita prefecture. The architect put emphasis on transparency of the interior, for shoppers inside the store feel uncomfortable when they are seen from outside the glazed openings.
To make a gap of eye levels of people in store or on the street, men’s floor is half underground and the ladies’ floor is the raised ground floor. The concrete beams and columns surround the store to make buffering voids around under a thick concrete overhang. The repeated stark concrete lattice expressively induce visitors to step in the store. Once you enter the piloti, you will be impressed with the strong horizontal lines and the volume of the concrete. 
Photos: Toru Shimokawa.
