Dome

Detail, north façade roof line, crisscrossed concrete braces and glass; Tod's is a substantial L-shaped building that needed to make the most of its narrow facade on Omotesando Avenue, Tokyo's most prestigious shopping street. Ito's innovative structure does this through concrete and glass walls in which the tree-shaped concrete limbs are structural, and wrap around the six faces of the building. The visual effect is dramatic, and the retail facade is well used: the righthand concrete 'trunk' is actually round the corner of the building, giving as wide a glazed entry as any curtain wall would have done. The shape of the concrete limbs is derived from the zelkova trees that line Omotseando Avenue. [Tod's is a high-end boutique clothier.] Source: Galinsky [website]; http://www.galinsky.com/ (accessed 5/4/2011)