Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka
Slideshow: a select number of garments at this fashion store in Osaka are presented inside a white cage-like tunnel.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_12.jpg)
The Ciel Bleu store was designed by Japanese interior designer Noriyuki Otsuka and also features a metallic gold floor and five-metre-high ceilings.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_1.jpg)
The oval tunnel is positioned slightly off-centre inside the shop and is surrounded by very little other furniture.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_14.jpg)
Four rows of acrylic boxes are mounted onto an illuminated rear wall to create shelves for displaying shoes.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_6.jpg)
You can see a selection of projects featuring tunnels in our recent special feature.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_5.jpg)
Photography is by Hiroyuki Hirai.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_4.jpg)
The following text is from Noriyuki Otsuka:
A white space in brilliant colors
This shop was designed for a retail complex called LUCUA, which was built as part of the redevelopment of the Umeda area in Osaka.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_9.jpg)
It is a luxurious architectural space of about 278m2 with a ceiling 5m high. When approaching the design I simultaneously embraced the two opposing notions of the overall concept as well as the detailed design of the space.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_7.jpg)
I was conscious that if I based my design on the functional requirements of the space such as the number of products that could be housed, I would end up with an interior resembling a fashion retail megastore.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_11.jpg)
The design that I proposed was an interior space which incorporated another architectural space within it.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_8.jpg)
This interior space was a cylinder made with a structurally self-supporting mesh. Because of the size of the feature I wanted to avoid integrating it too much with the surrounding space, so deliberately aligned it off center from the axis of the building.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_2.jpg)
This layout gives the space a sense of gravity. I also included custom-made hanging light fittings in my plan for the cylinder in order to make the interior space the central focus of the design.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_13.jpg)
The composer Toru Takemitsu expressed music with colors. In the same way, I wanted to express a white space using brilliant colors. That is to say, I wanted to use the density of the design to fill the space in the same way as music notes fill a space. This density is not expressed through an elaborate or gimmicky design; rather it is expressed as a fine balance of musical notes.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_3.jpg)
This sense of balance diffuses throughout the space in the same way that a drop of watercolor paint causes the surface of water in a jar to ripple outwards.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_10.jpg)
The white space is infused with color but maintains a sense of balance, and the specially-made gold metallic flooring highlights the form of every object in the space. It is in this that the originality and elegance of the shop is expressed.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_15.jpg)
The client had a very good understanding of design, and it was largely thanks to this that t was possible to design a space to such a high degree of perfection.
![Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka Le Ciel Bleu by Noriyuki Otsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/Dezeen_Le-Ciel-Bleu-by-Noriyuki-Otsuka_16.gif)