sugamo shinkin ekoda (2)photos by nacasa and partners inc. | click to enlarge

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Tokyo-based architect Emmanuelle Moureaux is on a quest to make Japan’s financial services industry more colorful. Her latest work for Sugamo Shinkin Bank – her 4th for the Japanese commercial bank, all equally colorful – is located steps away from Ekoda Station in Tokyo.

Moureaux has also scrapped the large, ugly corporate sign – a common sight with banks – and replaced it with numerous vibrant “sticks” (a common element seen in Moureaux’s work) that juts out 9 meters from the ground, effectively announcing the bank’s presence. As I’ve done with the previous bank locations, Moureaux said at a press event back in January, “I’ve tried to create a space that makes people want to stay, if only for a few more seconds.”

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source: press release