The Harajuku Quest, designed by Shohei Shigematsu and OMA New York, represents a renewed commercial and cultural center in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Located on a site in between Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku, the building is the newest phase of NTT’s “With Harajuku”, a larger urban development that aims to facilitate the flow of people through a series of squares and commercial areas. Harajuku Quest plans to draw people and activities from both Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku and connect the two areas for the first time. Construction is expected to complete in 2025.
Omotesando is an area defined by a strong urban identity with a strong axial thoroughfare in an area defined by winding, non-linear streets. The urban corridors are recognizable by the wide sidewalks lined with zelkova trees, and the attractive commercial facilities, including flagships for well-recognized brands. The growing need for extensive branding in retail architecture had led a growth in the size of the buildings overtime.
Just north of Omotesando’s main corridor, Oku-Harajuku offers a more intimate experience, more similar to a “village” townscape with organic streets and human-scale buildings housing independent shops. Throughout the last decades, the neighborhood has cultivated a distinct youth culture and creative movement, being recognized globally as a major influence on streetstyle fashion.
The new building responds to the two contexts by creating a single volume that is adapted and manipulated to respond to the different characters and fit with the zoning regulations. Toward Omotesando, the pinching and pulling of the façade creates a sculptural expression, while the side facing Oku-Harajuku has receding steps to create an inhabitable façade. This gesture also helps decrease the perceived scale of the building and allows for a variety of open space or programs that spill out toward Harajuku.
The conjunction of Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku embodies a duality of urban context as well as Tokyo’s fashion and retail culture. It was essential for the new building to bridge the two areas and express two stories. Like two sides of the same coin, a single building conveys alternate personalities, connected by a new public corridor. Harajuku Quest acts as both a visual and programmatic convergence point of Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku—a gathering place where visitors can experience the activities and aura of global fashion and local cultural scene simultaneously. - Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner
Internationally recognized architecture office OMA has recently revealed the design for the Discovery Partners Institute Headuquarters in Chicago, a project also led by Partner Shohei Shigematsu, in collaboration with Jacobs. The office is also leading an adaptive reuse project in Detroit, transforming a former bakery and warehouse into mixed-use art, education and community space.
