Nendo presents chocolate bars like paint swatches in Tokyo shop
Colourful chocolate bars are displayed in a transparent chest of drawers in this Tokyo shop designed by Japanese studio Nendo for a Belgian chocolatier (+ slideshow).
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
Nendo designed the shop in Tokyo's Ginza district as the first overseas store for BbyB – the chocolate company set up by Antwerp-based Michelin-star chef Bart Desmidt.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
The colourful packaging of BbyB's flavoured chocolate are displayed like paint swatches, arranged within a perspex case that runs through the centre of the long, narrow space.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
"Because the chocolates are all the same shape, the packaging is modular: five bars of chocolate slot neatly into each sliding box, and five boxes slot together into a cube," said Nendo.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
The designers replicated this idea and created a grid of sliding transparent drawers to display the square packets organised by colour.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
"We turned the shop space into a three-dimensional version of the chocolate packaging," said Nendo. "The chocolates seem to float in a transparent 'chest of drawers', placed at the centre of the shop."
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
Customers pull out the drawers to select their preferred flavour from options including strawberry, pepper, lemon, passionfruit and basil.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_12.jpg)
The design of chocolate packaging is also printed onto white tiles, which cover the wall behind the display case.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
The white interior is inverted at the back of the store, where a dark cafe provides a seating area for customers to sample their chocolate with a coffee.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
A counter that begins in the shop as another presentation area extends into the cafe to form the bar. A short break in the surface accommodates the glass partition that divides the two areas.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
"The design creates a seamless transition between the shop space, the packaging and the act of eating the chocolates, offering an organic, compelling experience," said Nendo.
Dezeen Book of Interviews: Nendo founder Oki Sato features in our new book, which is on sale now
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
The project is the latest in a string of chocolate-related designs by the studio led by Oki Sato. The designer created a lounge area surrounded by a cascade of 2,000 chocolate-coloured pipes at Maison&Objet, where he received the trade fair's Designer of the Year award earlier this year.
![BbyB chocolate shop by Nendo](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/03/BbyB-chocolate-shop_Tokyo_Nendo_dezeen_468_15.jpg)
To mark the occasion, Nendo also created a set of chocolates that included treats with pointed tips, hollow interiors and rough textures. The studio has previously designed a set of chocolate pencils and an ice cream cake topped with a group of small chocolate houses.