In which year did Prada open its Epicenter store in Tokyo? Prada opened its Tokyo Epicenter in 2003.
Known as Prada Aoyama, the store stands in Tokyo’s Aoyama district and was designed by the Swiss architecture practice Herzog & de Meuron. It opened as the second major Prada Epicenter, following the New York store, and was conceived as more than a conventional retail outlet: the spaces also support events, cultural programming, and social interaction.
The building is famous for its crystalline glass façade, made from hundreds of diamond-shaped panes that can be flat, concave, or convex. Behind the glass, structural cores and horizontal tubes help organize the interior while contributing to the building’s distinctive external appearance. This integration of structure, façade, and retail space became one of the project’s most discussed features.
The dates can be confused because construction ran from 2000 to 2003, but the opening year is 2003. Another common error is attributing the Tokyo Epicenter to Rem Koolhaas: OMA designed Prada’s New York and Los Angeles Epicenters, while Herzog & de Meuron designed Tokyo.