A living facade for Boucheron’s new flagship store in Tokyo

Marrying the mutual elegance of French and Japanese culture, we created a digital Jardin d’Hiver in the brand’s new home; an ever-evolving garden scenography projected onto the storefront that will ‘grow’ in harmony with the local seasons over the course of the year.

Unfolding within the tall, rounded black arches that frame the front of the store – a lush impression of a larger landscape full of minute natural details can be glimpsed from the street transforming in real time. Running on its own circadian rhythm, by day the glass is transparent allowing a view into the store’s activities. By night, the facade is projected on, becoming a window onto the activity of the verdant Winter Garden.

From local flora and fauna to seasonally-influenced weather elements, we intricately researched and planned the garden’s ecosystem then used a game engine, Unreal, to forge a generative environment for these different components to come to life.

The view people see from the street changes multiple times during the span of one night, revealing different compositions within the frame. Each season has its own character woven through a rich medley of sound and image, each composition tunes into the small shifts of the respective time of year.

With a nod to local Japanese festivities, each season contains a phase that pays tribute to a local celebration – from the bloom of spring’s cherry trees through to the fireflies whirring through the vibrant greens of summer, followed by a large harvest moon set against the warm tones of autumn and rounded off by an ice festival in winter.