Aesop Kichijoji

Jo Nagasaka of Schemata made a call-out to the local community, asking whether any houses were slated for demolition within a five-kilometer radius of the Kichijoji location. One response, from a woman whose elderly parents had decided to pull down their sixty-year-old timber house and re-build, was a match: the house was 2.7 kilometers from the store and had high-quality elements that could be salvaged. A team of representatives from Aesop and Schemata, as well as architecture students from Meiji University, attended the site and meticulously rescued timber beams and columns from the structure. The items were carried through the streets and parks of Kichijoji on a jinrikisha powered by the designers and students to our space—reports say it was quite a parade. All milling and fabrication was then carried out in the store itself, to eliminate the need for any further transportation.

The resolved design for Aesop Kichijoji is a playful reinterpretation of the deconstructed house in a series of shelves that are staggered throughout the space, creating a multitude of pathways and alcoves, a sense of surprise and focus. The raw beams and columns were bisected lengthwise, leaving one face in its patinated state and revealing a fresh facet on the other. These contrasting textures, juxtaposed in the shelves’ composition, sit in dialogue with the regularity and order of the rows of amber bottles. Counters, pedestals and basins are finished with a red urushi (lacquer) that contributes watertightness and visual balance to the arrangement.

A tucked-away Fragrance Library allows curious noses to explore a world of unconventional aromas, while individual basins facilitate highly personalised explorations of our full range of formulations for the skin, hair, body and home. Taking time to rest on the ample bench, visitors can take in the carefully crafted environment.