Laura Gonzalez Designs An Intimate Cartier Boutique In Tokyo

In addition to refreshing Cartier‘s Miami Design District boutique, another of Laura Gonzalez’s recent projects for the brand is a 10,200-square-foot boutique in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills development, which shows a quieter, more intimate side of her hallmark elevated exuberance. The building, by local architecture studio Yuko Nagayama Associates, is clad in panels of glass embellished with wavy gossamer striations. Behind that dreamy, translucent curtain, Gonzalez conceived the interiors “as a true haven of peace,” she says, “a refined and contemporary refuge in the heart of urban bustle.”

The emphasis, Gonzalez explains, was on classical Japanese materials—wood, ceramics, washi paper, stone. Running throughout is an irregularly shaped “poetic pathway,” she says of the flooring, which is exquisite painterly stone that meanders between carpeted areas, “recalling the furrows and meandering routes found in traditional Japanese gardens.”

Explore Laura Gonzalez’s work on the interiors for Cartier’s reimagined Miami flagship in this feature from our April 2026 issue.

Seductive, sophisticated decorative flourishes abound, from custom-gouged wooden columns and walls to bespoke textured tiles crafted with Japanese glazing and firing techniques to panels of washi paper hand-gilded with intricate foliage patterns. Perhaps the most arresting elements are the floor-to-ceiling enameled earthenware mosaics, featuring a riot of floral motifs in boisterous jewel tones. “Wisteria is a symbol of youth and renewal in Japan,” Gonzalez explains. “It echoes the world of Cartier as well as the refined patterns found in kimonos.”

Sculptural lighting also plays a prominent role, not least Gonzalez’s Sakura chandelier, now part of her furnishings collection, featuring delicate glass blooms sprouting from a branchlike brass armature. “It’s like a tree suspended in space,” she says, noting that the flowers, which are blown in Murano, Italy, draw inspiration from cherry blossoms. The light fixture, as with everything else in the atmospheric boutique, the designer adds, “is a beautiful illustration of the dialogue between French and Japanese craftsmanship.”

Walk Through The Cartier Boutique In Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Development