Interview with TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA —part 1
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The methods were quite orthodox, but I did my best with this design by adding details in my own way
— Teruhiro Yanagihara / TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA STUDIO
photography : Takumi Ota
words : Reiji Yamakura/IDREIT
Teruhiro Yanagihara is a multidisciplinary designer who handles a wide range of designs from brand direction to interior and product design. In June 2020, the showroom he designed was opened for the Arita ware brand called ‘1616/arita japan’, for which Mr. Yanagihara has been working as Creative Director ever since its establishment.
In this interview we asked him about the designing processes for both ‘1616/arita japan’ showroom and a fashion store ‘Mame Kurogouchi’ that opened from March 2020, as well as the things he normally regards as important when he designs.
— The showroom finally opened in 1616/arita japan’s home city, Arita in Saga Prefecture. When did you start getting involved with the brand?
In 2011, I received a offer to design a store in Tokyo for the manufacturer called Momota Touen. From that time, the “1616/arita japan” development started with the purpose to not just set up a shop, but also to establish a new porcelain brand, and since then I had been designing parts of their products while being involved with this brand as Creative Director. It was 2012 when we announced our first collection in Milan.
TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA STUDIO has designed their flagship store ‘Momota Touen Palace Hotel Tokyo Store’ in 2012. Momota Touen is an Arita-based pottery company that produces the brand ‘1616/arita japan’. photography: Takumi Ota
— The 1616/arita japan showroom looks great, with the brand’s world view and the interior design’s atmosphere matching well together.
The concept of the brand 1616/arita japan, to “make the most of Arita ware’s high pottery skills to create porcelain ware that can be used as everyday items by everyone from around the world”, has never changed ever since the brand was established. During 1616/arita japan’s product development, I made myself sure to design something that can make people from various countries to feel nostalgic, instead of just doing internationally acceptable designs. Also, at the same time, this is the brand that was developed with the purpose to make the most of the high-precision Arita craftsmanship, and create something that can never be copied by others. Therefore, I thought about the design of the showroom using the same concept this brand has for its creation of Arita ware products.
This is the concept that aims to create a showroom space with great care while making the best use of the craftsmanship, instead of trying to create a space that is either Japanese or European, so that when people who speak different languages, who are living in different parts of the world see it, they will feel nostalgic.
The exterior of ‘1616/arita japan’ showroom in Saga Prefecture.
Yanagihara designed the interior using custom-made bricks and an original mixed clay walls. The pillars on the right are finished with ceramic stone mixed plaster.
— How did you consider the overall arrangement of the showroom space?
In a typical showroom, a lot of products would be arranged in display cases, but at this showroom we planned it by creating space that looks like a large living room, so that the visitors can experience the actual situation where porcelain ware would be used. Since I wanted them to look at the scenes where Arita ware exist in a daily life, I also created other spaces that looked like bathroom and kitchen. Depending on each viewer, but these spaces may remind them of a minimal Japanese life, or they may even find some indigenous attractive in it, just like you do with the architecture by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon.
The entire showroom was designed like a living space. In the bathroom, visitors can experience actual life with their products.
The cafe in the showroom, which is equipped with an authentic coffee machine, will serve drinks in ‘1616/arita japan’ cups.
A detail of cafe countertop. They mixed four different sizes of ceremic stones into the plaster to create natural texture.
— Even when it’s a Japanese brand, you did not even try to make the showroom look Japanese.
No. I expressed the individuality of the brand by making the best of materials and methods that exist from the ancient time in Japan, and worked on the details of the showroom.
Using indigenous materials tend to create gentle impression, but I tried to express sharpness just like how the 1616 porcelains look. The methods I used were quite orthodox, but I did my best with this design by adding details in my own way to differentiate it from other designs.
A display table with a custom-made brick top. The sides of the table are made of hot rolled steel showing a sharp edges. A rough-textured brick was chosen because a rough-looking table is suitable for displaying their highly-accurate Arita-ware products.
Unpainted 2mm-thick copper plates were used to surround the clay walls. The clay walls are a mixture of clay and ceramic stone from Kyushu, based on the concept of constructing an interior using the same concept as making Arita-ware pottery.
— The table made from bricks and steel plates does in fact express that feeling very well.
I made this table by using sliced bricks for its top, and steel plates for its sides. If I use bricks also for the sides, it would create a dull impression, so instead I used the metal plates that can be processed in millimetre precision. For the tabletop, I used the custom-made material which was made from slicing the bricks after they come out from the heating process. I thought a delicate Arita ware would stand out more if it’s placed on the table that has a rough tabletop surface.
— You put a lot of thoughts into that! The brown clay walls are also unique.
Same concept applies here too, to show the sharp edges I used the copper plate with 2mm thickness for the wall sides. The reason for using clay for the showroom walls is because I wanted to integrate pottery stones that are used for Arita ware into the overall design. Today, you can choose any plastering materials you want from a catalogue, but I wanted to create something that can only be built in this particular location, so for the clay walls I used the clay that was customised by mixing together soil from Kyushu region and pottery stones used for Arita ware. Since I didn’t want to create smooth surface here, we randomly mixed stones with 4 different sizes.
— Each design seems to have its own reason behind it. How did you obtain this masterpiece ‘Spanish Chair’ designed by Borge Mogensen?
This is an antique piece I found in Denmark. I chose clay walls and copper plates for the interior so that these changes in texture can become the appealing features of the overall design. Since furniture age slower, if I use new furniture they won’t harmonise well with the whole design, so I used antique items for some parts.
Also, for the new furniture I chose Skagerak products from Denmark because you can enjoy their aging process. For the floor and walls made with solid wood, I used Douglas Fir wood materials from Denmark’s Dinesen.
The chairs are antique Spanish Chair, designed by Borge Mogensen, that were purchased in Denmark. The floor is finished with douglas flooring from Dinesen.
— How come you used a lot of items from Denmark?
When we think about wanting to create something that is ubiquitous, there are many architecture and furniture from Scandinavia that can be perfect to refer to.
Their attitude towards creating something that will stay inside towns, that will be deeply ingrained in someone’s life, is different from the time and speed that shops in Japan require from us.
But on the other hand, there is something common between Scandinavia and Japan, where they both set a high value on the nature. While designing this showroom, I felt a sense of empathy with the designs from Denmark, so what I did was to consume their materials in my own style and provided our own unique suggestions.
— It is quite interesting to hear how you had different perspectives such as life and time. What were the challenges you’ve faced when you look back at the whole flow?
The challenge for me was to communicate to the craftsmen the detailed nuances of how the final results should look like. Actually, we spent about 1 year doing multiple experiments to select the right materials. I was able to realise this project thanks to the wonderful craftsmen who were happy to cooperate with me because they found this project interesting and fun. I did have a hard time, but just like when I developed new Arita ware for this brand in the past, I really enjoyed the process of setting up a store.
— Next, could you tell me about the design you did for women’s fashion brand ‘Mame Kurogouchi’?
For me, doing this store was the first ever project…
continue to part 2
