Herzog and de Meuron: Prada Aoyama Tokyo by Herzog, Germano Celant (Editor)

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Synopsis

In the Aoyama district of Tokyo, a mixed-use neighborhood of low-rise buildings where not a square meter of land has been left unoccupied, the Swiss architecture team of Herzog & de Meuron has built a new store for Prada. In this chunky, silvery book, they meticulously illustrate the creative process that led to the realization of "a house and a plaza," a tall and narrow kaleidoscope-like structure that houses a two-story retail space and multiple levels of offices, backed by an outdoor space for the public—a rarity in crowded Tokyo. The finished structure, encased in a visually porous shell or skin, is as decorative as it is architectural—or as architectural as it is decorative—and is both metaphorically and literally linked to its surrounding environment, and to the idea of the garment. Here is the story of a theoretically and structurally complex building told lovingly and simply by its architects, through words, models, sketches, photographs, and architectural renderings.

Biography

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have had nearly parallel careers. They were born in 1950, in Basel, Switzerland, attended the same schools, and formed a partnership in 1978. Recipients of the 2001 Pritzker Architectural Prize, their most visible realized project to date is the Tate Modern, for which they transformed the giant Bankside power station in London into a suite of new galleries. Curent works-in-progress include an expansion of the Walker Art Center, the New de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Prada Headquarters and exhibition space in New York. A recent exhibition of their work was held at the Canadian Center for Architecture in Montreal.