A commercial interior design plan for BAUM, a skin and mind brand by Shiseido focused on the blessings of trees.
　
　
After designing the interior for the Hankyu Umeda main store in Osaka, our second design was for the
Isetan main store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The store was in the second basement floor surrounded by an
international array of skin care products, supplements, and natural items, and we sought to make the interior
give voice to BAUM’s ideas of circulation and improve the brand’s image.

We continued with the concept of touching the forest we used at the first location, aiming at creating a
comfortable space that still had some edge, feeling like the studio of an artisan set amid a beautiful
forest, weaving elements that seem contradictory at a glance throughout, such as the rough, rich
expressions of natural materials with the delicate details found in fine crafts, a sense of silence that still
has warmth, and more. The space at the first shop was designed with the motif of a coniferous forest,
this second sister store was designed with a conifer motif.
　
　
ForestBank, the main material used, focuses not only on processed lumber but also on the diverse value inherent
in forests themselves by combining various elements associated with trees, such as small-diameter wood,
branches, leaves, bark, and forest soil, which are typically considered low-value as timber resources. The mixture
utilizes a reactive mineral-based, water-based acrylic resin that is completely free from organic solvents and
VOCs. This BAUM project was custom made with a variety of materials, including leaves and branches collected
from the BAUM Cypress Forest tree-planting initiative in Ehime prefecture, along with unused, nonstandard
wooden parts from different products along with scraps, all mixed together in their original forms.
In addition to this, the materials were actually created with the assistance of the store and brand staff
working at the location, with everyone donning work clothes, grabbing electric mixers, and literally
pouring sweat into it. Through this, we aimed at planting an awareness that this was made by everyone,
not just the designer, at the shop by hand, deepening understanding of the brand concept and design of
the store, and acting as a driver for communication with customers.
　
　
The shapes and colors for the furniture and fixtures were all inspired by coniferous forests, and the line of
cypress rods standing straight up from the countertop were designed as a clear and impressive reference
to trees. This functions as a backdrop for products in front of it when looking at them from the aisle, and as
you approach, it acts as a partition, allowing products behind the rods peek out from the gaps, enticing
customers to come look at them. The layout around the central island counter was designed to create a
smooth route circulating around the shop. In addition to the furniture, the wall tiles and top boards are all
original materials made through the ForestBank process to create a uniform feeling throughout the space.

The BAUM philosophy of coexistence with trees can be seen and felt from many angles here, and the
olfactory experience area and sustainable wall shelving houses saplings, mostly oak and cypress, so
the growth of the plants and process of making parts are all on display. In order to communicate
BAUM's brand story and circulatory thinking through interior design, we applied varied visual, tactile,
and olfactory elements in our design to provide the experience of touching trees inside of a living,
breathing forest. The samplings grown in the store will all be planted in the BAUM Cypress Forest. This
space represents BAUM's cycling philosophy toward products, stores, forests, and beyond.
　
　
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