Christopher Brooks, AIA

International Design Division, General Manager, Design Director, U.S. Licensed Architect, M.Arch

He has extensive experience in workplace, retail, hospitality, and residential design in the United States, Japan, and various parts of Asia. His key clients have been IBM, ByteDance, VMware, Google, adidas, MetLife, Aozora Bank, Carlyle Group, and Marco Polo Hotel. His past works have been recipients of the Nikkei New Office Award, Herman Miller Liveable Office Award, Asia Pacific Property Award, IDA award, and IF Design Award.

Wataru Ishikawa

Planning&Development Division, Senior Director, First Class Architect

He joined GARDE after working in Italy. In 2014 he made a success of the renewal of the Doota! shopping center in Seoul, for which he was the design director. In 2015, he did the environment design for Barneys New York in Roppongi and Hyundai City Outlets Dongdaemun in South Korea. In 2016 he designed the office of the world-famous video game creator Hideo Kojima.

Yukio Ishiyama

President of GARDE Italy, Senior Architect, First Class Architect certified by the Italian Republic

In 2011, he won the International Property Awards Europe Best Retail Interior for the concept store EMPORIUM in Baku, Azerbaijan. He has been involved in the interior design of many fashion brand stores and restaurants in Florence and Milan, and in 2014 he was involved in the schematic design and construction document of SUSHI B, a fusion Japanese restaurant that opened in the Brera district in the center of Milan, where museums and galleries are concentrated.

Masayasu Suzuki

Vice President, GARDE U.S.A, Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA)

He joined GARDE after working as a Creative Director for the construction of the Universal Studios in Japan. He is specialized in theme parks and residential projects. He has been responsible for several projects in Japan, the US, and South-East Asia, such as 40/40 Club Jay Z in Macao, and the Far East Department Store in Taiwan.

Yoshikuni Onodera

Planning&Development Division, Senior Designer

He specializes in shared spaces environment design, exterior and facade design of shopping centers, residences, and department stores. Starting mainly from projects in Shanghai, he has now extended his activities throughout Chinese territory. In 2016, he was in charge of the environment design for the Food Paradise food court in Shanghai, the restaurant floor in Joy City shopping centers, and the Garden Park in Sunshine Paradise Fuzhou shopping center. In 2017 he came back to Tokyo and has been working on design works in a wider range of fields since then.

Yutaka Yamamoto

Design Division, Senior Director

Active mainly in the design and direction of large commercial facilities such as department stores, he was in charge of sales floor environment design for the Hankyu Umeda Main Store reconstruction project, overall direction for Nishinomiya Hankyu, and design of the 3rd and 4th floors for the entire Ginza Mitsukoshi store renovation. Overseas, he was in charge of the renovation of the entire DOOTA building in Seoul, the new PARKSON store in Johor Bahru, etc. In 2019, he was in charge of the design of the watch area on the 5th floor of Isetan Shinjuku, and he was the general design director of Ningbo Hankyu, which opened in 2021.

Masahito Kamekawa

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design, Senior Designer

He has had many achievements in large commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls, both in Japan and overseas. He was involved in the concept design of the Hankyu Umeda Main Store rebuilding project (1F-3F) and the concept design and schematic design of the Shinsaibashi Daimaru rebuilding project (4F-5F and B1 Fashion Sundries). He was awarded the Asia Pacific Property Award 2016 for "Joy Yard" in JOYCITY, a commercial facility in Beijing, and a special award in the Architecture and Branding category of the Architizer A+ Award 2017 for the shoe department on the 2nd floor of JOYCITY. His recent achievements include the concept design of Suzhou Joy Breeze and the concept design and schematic design of Beijing Joy Breeze.

Yu Ohata

Design Division, Design Department, Chief Designer

After being involved in the design and site supervision of large-scale commercial facilities in China for a long time, he joined the Hong Kong office and the Asia Pacific Division. He has been involved in a wide range of projects from conceptual design to supervision, such as the renovation project of Grand Shopping Center in Harbin, China, the environment design of PARKSON Department Store in Malaysia, and food and beverage design.

Toru Yokomatsu

Brand Operations Division, Design Department, Chief Architect

In addition to working as a local architect for the DOLCE & GABBANA Osaka Midosuji store, the BOTTEGA VENETA Ginza store, and many others, he was involved in a wide range of Tasaki Ginza store, including store concept planning, schematic design, construction document, basic conceptualization of VMD tools and rebranding work from 2007 to the opening in 2010. He was also charge of the work from schematic design to supervision at the Tokyo Midtown.

Shunji Sakuta

Design Division, Brand Design Department, Director, Senior Architect

He has long been engaged in local architect work mainly for overseas luxury brands. He has worked on a number of projects spanning several years, including flagship stores for overseas luxury brands such as GUCCI GINZA and VALENTINO GINZA in 2018, GUCCI AOYAMA in 2019, and GUCCI GINZA NAMIKI in 2021, as well as large-scale projects that require coordination of architecture and facilities. In 2020, he will cooperate in the design of the flagship store for the jewelry brand NIWAKA Ginza and is involved in a wide range of activities for both domestic and international brands.

Yuka Tsuchiya

Brand Operations Division, Design Department, Chief Architect

She has been involved in local architect work for several import brands, and since 2015 has been involved in coordination and design work with the home country for VALENTINO Kobe Daimaru, JIMMY CHOO Ginza Mitsukoshi DFS, JIMMY CHOO Nagoya Matsuzakaya, and DIESEL Okayama Sun Station.

Hiroki Niimi

Design Division, Design Department, Architect

He has been involved in many large-scale commercial facility and hotel interior design projects in Japan and overseas, including the interior design of the Royal Park Canvas Ginza 14F restaurant in 2018 and the interior design of the Shinjuku Isetan 5F watch department in 2019. In addition, he has participated in a wide range of projects both in Japan and overseas, including the interior design of the sports section of Joy City in Beijing, China. He is also engaged in creating image perspectives for many competition projects.

Francesco Ristori

International Design Division, Office Department, Architect, Designer

After achieving a master’s degree in architecture at the University of Florence, he specialized in Italy in housing and retail projects, as well as heritage buildings restoration. Since 2014 he has been involved as designer at GARDE, operating in Japan and Korea, China, and south-east Asia, involved in several project scales, such as corporate offices, hospitality, residential, commercial facilities, and department stores.

Anna Nishigori

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Designer

After studying interior architecture in the UK and obtaining MA, she joined GARDE in 2017. She was involved in the concept planning, schematic design and construction document of Kyoto Candeo Hotel and Osaka's new hotel. Utilizing the interior architecture technology she learned in the UK, she has been involved in various projects both in Japan and overseas with the focus on hospitality design.

Makoto Otani

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Designer

After joining the company in 2016, he worked in the PM Section of the Brand Business Division, where he managed the interior design work for imported brands opening stores in Japan. In 2019, he joined the Design Section of the Brand Business Division, where he worked as a local architect for imported brands ranging from apparel to cosmetics. In 2021, joined the International Design Division, where he works as a designer on a variety of projects in Japan and abroad, focusing on apparel stores, large-scale commercial facilities, and hospitality design.

Akihisa Wakayama

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Chief Designer

After working on the design of large-scale commercial facilities at a domestic design firm, he joined Garde in 2021.While designing mainly large commercial facilities such as department stores, he has also worked on many specialty stores. He is currently working on a wide range of projects mainly in Asia.

Onuki Hayato

Design Division, Brand Design Department, Architect

After graduating from interior design school, he spent more than 10 years specializing in commercial interior design, working on a department store renewal project in Shinjuku, environment design for a large-scale commercial facility in Shibuya, and environment design for other shopping malls and major building complexes. Since joining GARDE in 2020, he has been working on retail design in the brand division and has also participated in many large-scale commercial projects using his previous experience.

Keiko Okumura

Brand Operations Division, Brand Design Department, Designer

After returning to Japan, she has been engaged in designing houses, accommodations, and townhouse restorations, etc. At GARDE, she is in charge of numerous brand projects as a local architect for overseas brands, including street stores, department stores, and outlet stores. She is also in charge of the design and construction of the new building. Utilizing the communication skills she developed as a consultant before becoming a designer, she smoothly makes proposals to clients, liaises with the brand's home country, and coordinates with facility managers and construction sites.

Izumi Mizumura

Design Division, Brand Design Department, Designer

After engaging in interior construction design and supervision at a domestic construction company, he joined GARDE. He has been involved in the design activities of many high-end brands, making use of his diverse experience.

Manato Kiriya

Design Division, Brand Design Department, Designer

After graduating from graduate school, he built his career at a domestic design firm, where he was involved in designing domestic and international food and beverage facilities and offices. After joining GARDE, he has participated in many brand projects as a local architect for overseas brands in the Brand Division.

Satoshi Kasai

Design Division, Brand Design Department, Designer

After working for a domestic design firm designing hotels and housing complexes, he joined GARDE. In the Brand Division, he has been designing store interiors for imported brands such as Ray-Ban and KENZO, among others.

Zhe Huang

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Designer

A designer from China, Zhe graduated from a university in Macau before coming to Japan in 2016. After receiving a master's degree from Tokyo Zokei University, he worked for an interior design firm in Tokyo, where he designed interiors for hotels in Japan. He joined GARDE in 2022 and is currently working on hotels and commercial facilities in both Japan and China.

Nobuyuki Ueno

International Design Division, Office Department, Chief Designer

Joined GARDE after working for a domestic design firm, where he was involved in a diverse array of interior design projects, including offices, hotels, and commercial facilities. He also gained experience in interior design at an Australian design firm. He consistently strives to propose innovative activities and values, always approaching his work with a global perspective.

Yoshimi Ogawa

International Design Division, Office Department, Designer

Studied interior design and lighting design in the U.S. and contributed to various projects at a design firm in New York. Upon returning to Japan, she worked in a trading company and another design firm before joining GARDE. Currently, she actively participates in office projects both domestically and internationally.

Yuki Tamura

Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Designer

After being involved in interior design and graphic design for hotels, veterinary hospitals, and restaurants at an architecture firm, she joined GARDE in 2023. Currently, she is actively participating in projects primarily focused on commercial facilities, both within Japan and on the international stage.