Takashimaya

The North American flagship store for the Tokyo-based Takashimaya department store is located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan. Its prominent site is mid-block in a neighborhood with a rich architectural context, so the building’s avenue facade takes on added significance. The owners encouraged the architects to design a facade that would respect the context of the neighborhood. Limestone was selected as the primary building material; two-story granite orders and engaged columns rise one upon another from the three-story high entry at the base to the top of the building, where they end in a porch-like colonnade just below the penthouse. The requirement for several floors of office space in addition to the department store necessitated two distinct entrances, thereby giving office tenants a secure lobby separate from the retail entrance.

Jeff Sydness was the Design Partner-in-Charge of this project for John Burgee Architects.