After designing fifteen award-winning Anthropologie stores for Urban Outfitters, EOA was engaged to design the Tokyo flagship for one of their other brands, Free People,. Located in the Harajuku shopping district, the challenge was to convert a cavernous and cold concrete building into an environment that reflected the brand’s bohemian spirit. The transformation included sheathing the entire building in white washed wood and bringing the scale down by integrating sliding steel and glass doors and plantings at street level. An enormous double height space is activated by white wooden trusses, creating a framework for merchandising elements and filtering the light from skylights above. Entry is through an intimate yet illuminated side garden or along the street and down a curving staircase. Warmth and texture is brought to the interior with natural wood beams, flooring, fixtures and textiles.