For any store or office, the entrance plays a crucial role as the first structure that greets customers and visitors. This is precisely why many owners and designers pay particular attention to entrance design. Here is an example of an impactful entrance that embodies the vision of a client.

LÝFT GÝM is a members-only fitness club located on the third basement floor (B3F) of the Main Building of Omotesando Hills, a commercial complex in Tokyo. KIKUKAWA fabricated the uniquely shaped wall screen that now forms the entrance to the gym floor via the gym reception.

The overall size of the wall screen is 7.4m wide by 4m high. Polygonal panels in stainless steel and glass have been fitted into a frame constructed from intersecting stainless steel square tubes. The screen is also soundproofed: two 1.5mm-thick stainless steel panels were installed inside the cavity of the 75mm-thick screen, to sandwich glass wool (a fibrous material with excellent heat insulation and sound absorption properties). The wall screen needed to perfectly seal the wide open area; this required high levels of precision in both fabrication and installation.

The focal point of this entrance design is a polyhedral three-dimensional feature panel, set around the doors. This was designed using 3D-CAD. This highly impactful design sees the polyhedral shape protrude some 765mm from the wall at its highest outermost point. The panel is comprised of 17triangular panels, each 3mm thick and crafted in various sizes from stainless steel.

Not only did this project have a short lead time, the three-dimensional shape also had tight joints requiring hidden screws. As such, we needed to address a number of challenges, both at the design and fabrication stages.

When designing the sharp, mineral stone-inspired shape of the entrance, particular attention was paid to safety, given that an entrance is by nature used by many people. We created mock-ups of the three-dimensional part, in order to study which shape could best strike a balance between design and safety. We also neatly chamfered the panel corners to reduce any risk from contact.

A Permanent Hairline / Vibration (PHL) surface finish was applied to the stainless steel panels. This imparts a highly metallic shine, as a result of fine grind marks that sparkle under lighting. The grind marks of a PHL finish are also comparatively inconspicuous, which makes PHL ideal for high contact fixtures.
Click here to learn more about PHL (Vibration) Finish

In a video released when the gym was opened, the gym owner explains how he is “so glad we commissioned this” and talks about how pleased he is with the results.
Click here for the video (in Japanese, entrance discussed from 2:16-3:00).

Polyhedral designs for interiors and exteriors, such as those featured in this project, combine well with metal materials able to evoke sharpness and definition. KIKUKAWA has proven experience with this type of fabrication and installation. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your project needs.

Click here for project examples of both exterior and interior use of polyhedral shapes
・Tokyu Plaza, Omotesando Harajuku
・Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) Terminal 2, International Flight Facilities
・Sundai Preparatory School, Kashiwa
・Sumitomo Fudosan Azabu Juban Building