To celebrate the 12th anniversary of a Jins eyewear store, Schemata Architects has completed a renovation that involved taking a sledgehammer to the walls (+ slideshow).
The Japanese eyewear brand enlisted the Jo Nagasaka-led practice to create a more open-plan and welcoming space for customers of its store in Ageo, in Japan's Saitama Prefecture.

Having knocked through the majority of the shops pre-existing walls, all areas of the shop can now be seen from the exterior ? a key element in the architects' design objectives.

Related story: Jo Nagasaka knocks through the walls of a Tokyo house to reveal its aged structure

The new glazing put in its place features a Low-E coating ? meaning the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through glass is minimised, without compromising the overall quality of light.
"We removed the exterior walls and installed Low-E paired glass to create the view towards the beautiful courtyard from the street, whilst making the impressive display of extensive eyewear products highly visible from the street at the same time," said Schemata.

By exposing the structure that previously lay hidden inside the walls, the architects created an interior space characterised by the presence of wooden cross-braces.

"The interior design was intended to emphasise the effect of exposing the skeleton of the building," the practice added.
"New interior walls are offset from the original wall lines, fin...