Le Labo Kyoto Machiya / Jo Nagasaka + Schemata Architects

Le Labo is a fragrance brand from New York. I first became aware of the brand in 2016, when many factory-style stores, such as Blue Bottle Coffee and Dandelion Chocolate, were emerging in Europe and the United States. I was walking down the streets of London when I chanced upon Le Labo’s distinctive space, with its striking matte black steel storefront reminiscent of a laboratory. My curiosity was piqued, but I wimped out and didn’t go in because I didn’t know what kind of store it was. Later, a friend told me it was a fragrance brand called Le Labo, with an in-store lab for manually blending fragrances, and it left a lasting impression on me.