On October 7th, Takashimaya opened its first street-level store, "Takashimaya Watch Maison" (Starts Nihonbashi Building, 3-1-8 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The new store was created by relocating only the watches section from the "Watches and Jewelry" section on the sixth floor of the main building of Takashimaya Nihonbashi. It now occupies the first and second floors of a building diagonally across Chuo-dori Avenue from the main entrance of the main building. TeamLab was selected to handle the spatial design for the relocation. Their first thought was how to attract passersby to enter the "House of Watches," boasting one of the world's largest selections of 83 brands. The resulting digital artwork, "Flowers in the Sandfall," was installed on the façade.
The eight-meter-long work features seasonal flowers blooming in the depths of flowing sand. When visitors stand in front of it, sensors detect the waves and cause them to break, creating a mysterious experience. Furthermore, the flowers in the background bloom in profusion, inviting visitors into the store and captivating the viewer's heart.
According to Yota Nakamura, product team manager for teamLab's Catalyst team, who attended the press preview the day before the opening, the movement of the sand and flowers is created moment by moment by a program, just like in the natural world, where the same scenery is never seen twice. Furthermore, while cosmos flowers bloom in the work throughout October, the type of flower changes with each month, making it a unique piece that visitors will want to see again and again whenever they pass by the building.
There are seven works in total: six on the facade and one on the staircase landing inside the building. Each piece has embedded hour and minute clock hands, with those on the facade set to the time in Seoul, Taipei, and other cities, while those on the landing are set to the current time in Tokyo.
This mechanism blends beautifully with the flowing sand and flowers that evoke the changing of the seasons. Even passersby will find themselves unknowingly lost in a labyrinth of time, even in the heart of the city.
