Rough concrete, gravel and stones are contrasted with polished steel in a project by Japanese designer Kenta Nagai. 

An unusual Askwatch watch boutique has opened in Tokyo: instead of an emphatically luxurious interior with marble and rare varieties of wood, buyers are greeted by a bunker with peeling concrete walls. Against the background of rough and “raw” architecture, designer Kenta Nagai placed ideal in its geometry built-in blocks of steel and brushed MDF. 

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa

A striking contrast of textures sets the drama and dynamics of the space. Nagai left the reinforced concrete walls and ceilings of the two rooms of the boutique intact: they show traces of old tiles, fragments of plaster, rusty pipes and uneven holes of unknown origin. It was possible to organize this picturesque chaos with the help of minimalist interventions: cabinets, showcases and partitions made of polished steel, a white built-in booth for negotiations, a laconic service desk and a bench. Gravel on the floor and boulders used here as abstract sculptures are contrasted with smooth tiles and smooth wooden flooring. 

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa

The store occupies two floors. On the lower floor there is the main hall, the entrance to which the designer decorated with ritual ceremony. The visitor consistently passes several zones: first, a portal decorated with mirror steel, then a small hall, followed by a “dressing room» decorated in black — a transitional space that is called “hazama” in Shinto temples. The complex architecture of the elongated room played into the hands of Nagai, who managed to create intrigue and a sense of pleasant anticipation. 

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa

On the second floor there are auxiliary rooms: a cash desk and a waiting area, a staff room and a meeting room. The designer managed to compensate for the almost complete absence of daylight with the help of atmospheric illumination. Nagai used lightboxes and neon tubes, which emphasize the industrial character of the interior. 

Photo: OFP Kenta Hasegawa