ABSTRACT
The Samson’s Candies building is located in the center of Tokyo. Because it faces a train station, throngs of people walk through its front yard during commuter hours. Also, because the station exit is clogged with cars, Samson’s front yard serves as a station plaza, a buffer zone. This piece of land is valuable, but is made available by the company as a sidewalk. The sidewalk runs right along the front windows. Behind the glass panels is a huge display chamber. It shows all year round countless kinds of Samson products, ranging from chewing gum to marrons glacés. Pedestrians are bound to peek in the window as they walk by. In other words, it is for advertisement purposes that Samson offers its plaza to the public. The sidewalk is comfortably spacious and roofed. Many benches and flower beds give it the feeling of a small park. Samson’s architectural layout also conveniently frees the neighborhood from pedestrian congestion caused by the station. For this reason, Samson sits well with the area.
