Mercedes-Benz Connection in Roppongi, Tokyo, will relocate and reopen on January 18th. The new location is about a one-minute walk from the old Connection building, closer to Nogizaka Station. Ahead of the grand opening, a facility overview was unveiled on the 15th. Kubota Architecture continues to oversee the architectural design. The facade, with its black frame and LED lighting, retains the architectural design of the old facility. The interior has been completely redesigned, and the design anticipated event demand from the construction stage. Entering the first-floor entrance, a long approach leading to the back, known as the Runway, begins, and is intended as an exhibition and event space. An atrium in the center of the Runway creates a sense of unity across the floors. Wooden merchandise and cafe spaces are located on both sides of the entrance. The new cafe, DOWNSTAIRS COFFE, is supervised by Hirofumi Sawada of Streamer Coffee Company, as was the case with the old location. In addition, Shuichiro Kimura of Maison Kayser has been appointed as food producer, enhancing the selection of sandwiches and other light meals.
The second floor features the first private lounge outside of Germany for Mercedes' high-performance brand, AMG, as well as the French dining establishment UPSTAIRS. Ryuta Iizuka of the two-Michelin-starred French restaurant Ryuzu oversaw the menu. While the restaurant serves French cuisine, the open kitchen interior and pricing aim for a casual feel that many people can enjoy.
Sadahiro Nakamura, president of Transit General Office, which produced the restaurant and cafe following previous connections, explains the food and beverage offerings: "While we pursued quality, we also kept the prices reasonable to accommodate a wide range of patrons. We believe it can be used for a variety of occasions, such as before work in the morning, for lunch, meetings, dinner, or as a bar. We hope to incorporate it into the lifestyles of people of all ages." To allow visitors to experience Mercedes vehicles, the company has launched a dinner course with pick-up in a Mercedes-Benz and a "Trial Cruise" service, where visitors can tour the city in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. A dedicated trial crew member drives and accompanies the guests. Mercedes-Benz Connection opened in July 2011 for a limited 18-month period. Daisuke Nakayama of Mercedes-Benz Japan explains the background to the renovation: "Named 'Connection' based on the concept of 'connecting and connecting,' we opened this facility as a showroom with an attached restaurant to allow not only the wealthy but also many other people to experience the brand. A total of 900,000 people visited during the renovation period, 60% of whom were women. Furthermore, 15,000 people registered for the Mercedes Connected point card, 80% of whom were owners of vehicles other than Mercedes. These results gave us a sense of success as a base for disseminating information about the Mercedes brand, leading to this renovation." The facility is scheduled to remain open until spring 2015. Mercedes-Benz has been the title sponsor of Tokyo Collection since the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The relocated Mercedes-Benz Connection will serve as a satellite venue for Fashion Week Tokyo, which will be held in March.
