Famous for its innovative, design-forward and whimsical stationery items, housewares and everyday accessories, the Japanese brand Mark’s is opening a concept store in Paris, its first in Europe, with an interior design created by Joseph Grappin Studio. The retailer currently has over 21 stand-alone boutiques in Japan and aims to gain a new following for its authentic, contemporary and typically Japanese items.
Located on the quiet and trendy rue du Trésor in the Marais, the feel of the 80 sq. metre space is casual and welcoming, thanks to the use of natural materials like wood and concrete. All of the items for sale, both small and large, are presented in the store’s pared-down, carefully orchestrated and functional interior, ensconced behind a darkly urbane and typically Parisian shop façade. The doors at the front entrance are designed to open up to the full height of the space, merging the street’s tree-lined and calm atmosphere with that created by the store, when the weather permits.
Fanning out around the entire space, a shelving structure in light-coloured olive ash provides a warm contrast to the serene storefront. Installed along the walls and reaching as high as the ceiling, the components of this structure cleverly fit into each other, seeming to spring from nodes like the roots and shoots of a rhizome but in a geometric grid, an effect intensified by the mirrors on the ceiling.
This mechanical assembly system, requiring no nails or screws, using instead a complex version of a mortise-andtenon joint, draws on and adapts traditional Japanese wood joinery techniques. The system employs an innovative type of wood wedge, developed specifically for this project in collaboration with a team of design engineers at Métalobil, used with the wood planks to fix their positions at each shelf height. The base below this wooden structure consists of a group of blocks, one serving as the cash desk and the others fitted with drawers and/or used as tables. Like monoliths with a very realistic concrete appearance, these elements give the impression of doing their best to anchor the aerial structure.
Cantilevered above the floor, the blocks paradoxically seem to run counter to the laws of gravity. For example, the backlit display table at the entrance has a concrete base that appears to balance precariously on its wooden feet. Deeper into the space, the concrete shapes become
columns attuned to the rhythm of the beams and instil a new cadence, whose effect is amplified by the reflections from a grey-tinted mirror installed along the back wall.
Mark’Style Tokyo’s new concept store in Paris offers a bold reinterpretation of traditions, where natural materials and technical touchstones are reinvigorated and revisited along contemporary lines. The re-examination of traditional Japanese joinery in the context of this project presents new ways to look at questions of use and the rational occupation of space. It serves as a fertile wellspring of exploration for Joseph Grappin, who enjoys developing unique, and often modular, construction principles for his projects, always grounded in their aesthetic relevance.
