Hasta La Ideas

World Architecture Festival 2012: architect Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture talks to Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs about the future of books in the digital age in this movie we filmed at the World Architecture Festival earlier this month, where a bookstore he designed in Japan won the prize in the shopping centres category.

“We’re no longer chasing the young consumer,” says Dytham. He explains that the average age of the population in Japan is 50 and includes people with plenty of free time and a disposable income, meaning that there is still a “very strong future for books” as well as tablets.

Designed for Japanese entertainment brand Tsutaya, Daikanyama T-Site comprises three buildings with T-shaped elevations that subtly reference the logo of the brand. Hundreds of interlocking Ts also create a lattice across each of these exterior surfaces. ”The client wanted a very stong branding on the building, without branding it,” says Dytham, and describes how they achieved this “at two different scales”.

Louvred steel bridges link up with a “magazine street” that stretches across the first floor of each block and is one of the details designed to encourage “social retail”. Dytham explains that: “People don’t get a chance to go and socialise, they don’t get a chance to meet somebody and this third space is becoming incredibly important.”

Dytham, who’s based in Japan, finishes the discussion by talking about the continuing energy crisis in the country 18 months on. He describes how the population were able to instantly cut down their energy usage and declares it possible that “everybody in the world can reduce their energy consumption by 20 percent.”

Read more about Daikanyama T-Site in our earlier story, or see more stories about Klein Dytham Architecture.

We’ve filmed a series of interviews with award winners at the World Architecture Festival, which we’ll publishing over the next few days – see our interview about the World Building of the Year with architect Chris Wilkinson.

See all our stories about WAF 2012 »

Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

The post “There’s a very strong future for books”
– Mark Dytham on Daikanyama T-Site appeared first on Dezeen.