Fragile Beauty: Yusuke Seki Creates a Ceramic Stage for Maruhiro in Nagasaki

Ceramics have long been the ultimate symbol of fragility and delicate beauty. If you hear of a space being stormed through “like a bull in a China shop,” mental images of carnage and destruction are summoned — these beautifully brittle objects are treasured by many, but are certainly not known for their resilience under pressure. For this reason, Japanese designer Yusuke Seki’s use of porcelain in his latest project is unexpected, to say the least.

The Maruhiro Flagship Store in Nagasaki is the new home for Hasami ceramics, named after the district in western Japan where the production of porcelain dates back almost 400 years. While its ceramics are now mass-produced using modern techniques, Maruhiro places great importance on maintaining the heritage and history of both the brand and the area from which it originates.

Speaking to Architizer, Seki recalled the original question asked of himself and his design team when he first received Maruhiro’s brief: “How can we make a ‘chemical reaction’ between local people, including client, craftsmen, and our own architectural view?” In response, Seki chose to place the porcelain itself at the heart of the store interior, integrating it with the building to create a figurative and literal connection between shoppers and the products they are browsing.

The dramatic centerpiece of the newly renovated space is a display platform comprised of 25,000 pieces of pure white Hasami porcelain, each one an example of “Shinijiki” — the Japanese word for ceramics that are found to have some kind of flaw after the initial firing, rendering them unsuitable for sale. The resulting structure may be the most pristine example of upcycling in architectural design: each piece has been individually chosen to interlock with those surrounding it, forming a homogenous stack of gleaming ceramics that appears as an opaque version of Tony Cragg’s stunning glass Cumulus sculpture.

“So many people who are working at the kilns and passed ‘Shinikiji dead stocks’ are appreciating this unexpected reality,” remarks Yusuke Seki, reflecting on the hugely positive public response to the project. “Their disposal material is key to the main design concept, mentally and fiscally. They are proud to be part of this project, and they enjoy walking on this stage step by step.”

Indeed, Seki’s platform is designed as a stable structure upon which people can walk – concrete has been poured in-situ to strengthen each cup and bowl – transforming the retail environment into an exhibit that falls somewhere between an interactive art installation and the setting for some kind of dramatic theatrical performance. The stage works to confound people’s architectural sensibilities and their material preconceptions: to view the delicate pieces upon each podium, they must walk across a surface so associated with fragility, the urge to walk on tiptoes must be palpable. However, people are forced to trust in the integrity of this unconventional floor material, and, in doing so, it is hoped they will also reflect on the quality and longevity of Hasami ceramics.

The platform also references the traditional Japanese pottery-making process specific to the Nagasaki Prefecture — it is a representation of “Monohara,” the name given to the kiln-side area where broken fragments produced during the firing process are disposed. This forms a visual tribute to what the architects describe as “an archaeological mille-feuille of the long industrial history of this region — but also creates a sense of reverence for this history, conveying the fragility of each individual item engineered together to inspire and cultivate respect for the legacy as a whole.”

The rest of the store interior is deliberately understated, with simple details and a natural material palette allowing the monochromatic block of ceramics to take center stage. Selected for-sale items are displayed on timber podiums and shelves, their colors popping against the white and gray tones that dominate the space. Charcoal tiles contrast sharply with the pale glaze of the pottery, while a series of steps leading to the stage are made from terra cotta-colored bricks echoing the materiality of Nagasaki’s firing kilns.

The front of the store maintains the characteristic elegance of traditional Japanese design, with sliding screens giving a glimpse of the store’s unique sculptural platform. Yusuke Seki has successfully merged two architectural typologies — that of the retail space and the art gallery — to create a store in which consumer products are lent a whole new level of sophistication, by virtue of their setting. The reaction? “Just surprise, from both young and older generations,” says Seki. While ceramics remain intrinsically linked with notions of fragility, the interior design on show at Maruhiro is stronger than ever.