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      Keiji Ashizawa designs “home-like” The Conran Shop in Hillside Terrace

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      Designer Keiji Ashizawa has devised the interiors of The Conran Shop Daikanyama in Tokyo, which is located inside a building by architect Fumihiko Maki and spotlights products from Japan and Asia.

      The latest outpost from British retailer The Conran Shop is located in the modernist Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama, a quiet area close to the Tokyo city centre.
      The complex was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Maki and constructed between 1967 and 1992.
      The Conran Shop Daikanyama was designed to resemble someone’s homeAshizawa aimed to take the existing architecture of the two-storey building into consideration when designing the interior of The Conran Shop.
      “Since the existing space had great potential, we knew that the work had to be put into elevating what was already there – thinking about the proportions of the space, the dry area and so on,” he told Dezeen.

      “Although it is inside a well-known architecture, there were elements where we thought we could bring change to the inside.”
      It features pieces by Japanese and Asian designersThese changes included turning one glass section into a solid wall.
      “Glass walls were used extensively as part of the architectural concept so that the store space could be viewed through the layers of glass,” Ashizawa said.
      “While building the store, we decided that there wouldn’t be a problem in making a section of the glass wall become a solid wall, considering its serenity as a space and its relationship with the street.”
      A mezzanine showcases a sofa and other living room furnitureThe designer created the 200-square-metre store to look like someone’s home, in a nod to the peaceful nature of the surrounding area. It features a large atrium on the ground floor, connecting it to an adjoining courtyard.
      “Daikanyama is a very calm neighbourhood in Tokyo, where we wished to design a store where people could feel relaxed and away from the stimulation of the city,” Ashizawa said.
      “We intended to create a space for people to stay for a long period of time and feel the space.”
      The store is located in the iconic Hillside Terrace complexThe interior design was also based on The Conran Shop’s three keywords – plain, simple and useful – CEO of The Conran Shop Japan Shinichiro Nakahara told Dezeen.
      The store’s product selection also places a special focus on Japanese and Asian design.
      “Specifically for The Conran Shop Daikanyama, the selections were focused on objects from Asia, including Japan,” Nakahara said.

      Keiji Ashizawa and Norm Architects design tactile interiors for “hotel in the sky”

      “The process of [founder] Terence [Conran] travelling around the world, finding and buying items in each place by himself, has not changed,” he added. “Many of the objects selected by the Conran team in Japan have a sense of craftsmanship.”
      “We created the space by imagining a situation in which such objects would be displayed alongside each other. For example, the details of the objects are reflected in the interior design.”
      It features a staircase with a handrail made from black paper cordsThe interior uses materials that are common in Japan including concrete, steel, wood, plaster, Japanese stone and paper.
      “The use of Japanese paper in interior design is an element that is distinctively Japanese,” Ashizawa explained.
      “Shoji screens are an important element in creating a Japanese-style room but I realize that they can also be well used in both functional and aesthetic ways in a modern space.”
      Concrete walls and shoji screens were used for the interiorThe studio also used Japanese paper that had been dyed in a grey hue as wallpaper to give the space a “soft and contemporary feel.”
      “Since we weren’t building an actual house but rather a home-like Conran store, the materials were thoughtfully instrumented to achieve a balance,” Ashizawa said.
      The ground floor of the store holds furniture, homeware and apparel, and also has a mezzanine floor that is accessible by a staircase featuring a handrail made from black paper cords.
      A gallery-like space is located on the basement floorAshizawa designed the basement floor, which functions both as an additional shopping area and a gallery space, to have a calmer atmosphere.
      “Filled with natural light, the ground floor uses colours that bring grandeur and a sense of calmness,” he said.
      “The basement floor is toned to create a more private feeling. We respected the natural colours of the materials as much as possible, while also considering the harmony with the objects on display and in the gallery.”
      The store has a neutral colour palette and wooden detailsThe Conran Shop Daikanyama also has an adjoining bar where visitors can enjoy teas such as sencha and macha.
      Ashizawa has previously worked on a number of other projects in Tokyo, including the Bellustar Tokyo “hotel in the sky” and the Hiroo Residence.

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      BAO Mary draws on “utilitarian design” of Taiwanese dumpling shops

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      London’s latest BAO restaurant is modelled on the liveliness of Taiwan’s dumpling shops, with designer MATHs opening up its shopfront to “allow people to spill out”.

      Design studio MATHs aimed for restaurant chain BAO London’s latest outpost in Marylebone, named BAO Mary, to let its visitors interact more with the space outside the restaurant to create a vibrant feel.
      “With all our sites, we look to distil an element of Taiwanese culture,” BAO co-founder Shing Tat Chung and MATHs designer Priscilla Wong told Dezeen.
      “Taiwanese dumpling shops are lively – there’s a sense of excitement and chaos,” they added. “As with a lot of informal eateries in Asia, there are diners pouring into the street.”
      BAO Mary is located in central London’s Marylebone areaThe first change the duo made when taking over the 110-square-metre restaurant, which had previously housed another eatery, was to open it up more towards the street by removing banquette seats that made its front look closed-off.

      “The first design move was to open up the shopfront to allow people to spill out and blur the threshold between inside and out,” MATHs said.
      “This helps to create the liveliness that we find in dumpling houses.”
      It has a wood-panelled interiorThe goal for the interior of the two-storey restaurant, which serves dumplings and quick cold dishes, was to create an intimate atmosphere.
      As its existing fit-out had been completed just 18 months earlier, MATHs kept the timber-lined walls but added a parquette floor and simple white tiles in the kitchen.
      “The main dining space is small, so we wanted to lean into that and create a sense of intimacy, whilst referencing the utilitarian design of dumpling houses,” Chung and Wong explained. “The overall material palette helps to strike a balance between the two.”
      Tables and chairs were custom-madeFor the outdoor dining space, the designers used brushed-metal terrace tables from Arcalo that are altered to be shorter and complemented by stools from Artek.
      Inside, chairs and tables are bespoke and the restaurant is lit by lamps from Flos and Artemide.

      BAO King’s Cross pays tribute to Asia’s Western-style cafes

      BAO Mary also features a nod to the open self-serve fridges often seen in Taiwan.
      “It’s quite common in Taiwan to have open self-serve fridges,” the designers said. “Whilst in London, we contemplated whether we could do the same but in the end decided against it.”
      “To reference this feature, we have a cold drinks fridge in the back corner of the room,” they added. “These points of reference, alongside the glass table tops and the softly swirling fans, add to the feel of what we wanted to achieve.”
      A fridge next to the kitchen nods to Taiwanese self-serve fridgesAs the primary material used inside the space was the existing wooden walls, MATHs wanted to create a colour palette that would complement the panelling.
      The studio chose a “buttery yellow colour” for the ceiling, while cream and tan leather add neutral colour details upstairs.
      The basement floor, which can be booked by larger groups, has orange banquette seating.
      The open kitchen is the focal point of the spaceThe designers also referenced BAO London’s beginnings as a market stall with the design of BAO Mary, where the tiled kitchen functions as a focal point.
      “We wanted to create a glow at the end of the space – almost theatrical – to draw people in and create a visual focus,” Chung and Wong said.
      “The first view on entry is the brightly lit kitchen and sharp light of the fridge, which is sandwiched by the dark timber walls,” they added.
      “When we first started as a market stall, the great satisfaction was that immediate interaction, and feeling part of the restaurant and seeing it feel and come together rather than being stuck in a basement.”
      BAO Mary is set over two storeysHaving the kitchen open also creates a connection between the chef and the diners, the duo said.
      “It creates that focus in the room, the buzz, the clatter, the chatter,” they added. “It becomes that activation in the small room.”
      Other recent bao restaurants featured on Dezeen include BAO London’s King’s Cross branch, which was informed by Asia’s Western-style cafes, and Bao Express in Paris, which draws on traditional Hong Kong diners.
      The photography is by Ash James.

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      The Lodge hotel takes over 500-year-old farmhouse in Mallorca

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      A roughly-hewn stone trough and a traditional mill for pressing olive oil were repurposed by interior designer Pilar García-Nieto within this farmhouse-turned-hotel near Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.

      The Lodge is the latest boutique hotel from Único Hotels, tucked away inside a 157-hectare estate filled with centenarian almond and olive trees, lavender fields and 20 kilometres of hiking trails.
      The Lodge is set in a converted Mallorcan farmhouseAll of the hotel’s public spaces and six of its guest rooms are housed inside a converted 16th-century farmhouse, which was renovated from the ground up.
      “To be able to enjoy a 500-year-old house is a privilege,” García-Nieto told Dezeen. “Many generations have gathered behind those walls. It is this spirit of a family home that we have tried to preserve.”
      The building’s original stone trough sink now acts as a fountainA further 18 suites were dotted across the grounds, set in newly constructed cabins modelled on the few remaining walls of the farm’s outbuildings.

      Although The Lodge’s interiors are largely clean and minimal, traces of the estate’s agricultural past were left to peek out everywhere throughout the hotel.
      A traditional olive oil press decorates the receptionThe farm’s original tafona – a stone mill used for making olive oil – now stands in the reception in front of a wall of fridges filled with wine from local vineyards.
      “Aesthetically it is unbeatable,” García-Nieto said. “Either you are lucky enough to have one or it is impossible to replicate it.”
      “That is why it was important for us to preserve the one we have, and to give it the great protagonism it deserves.”
      Some of the building’s original stone walls are left exposedSome of the building’s original stone walls were left exposed on the interior while the huge trough sink that stood in the former kitchen now acts as a water fountain near the entrance.
      These period details were complemented with a selection of new and vintage pieces, sourced from second-hand shops in the nearby village of Consell and further afield.
      The lounge is traversed by a modular ceramic screenAmong them is an antique French tapestry that was suspended above a modern console table at the entrance. Nearby, in the hotel’s restaurant Singular, contemporary art hangs next to French bronze wall sconces from the Napoleonic period.
      Here, guests can eat in a high-ceilinged dining room or on a leafy terrace with clean-lined metal garden furniture, overlooking the hotel’s glistening infinity pool and the surrounding coppices.

      The Olive Houses are off-grid retreats hidden in Mallorca’s mountains

      The rugged nature of the nearby Tramuntana mountains informed The Lodge’s interior in the form of its earthy colour and material palette.
      Located right off the reception, the lounge combines blackened timber tables with rattan stools. And an original mortar found in the farmhouse is displayed inside a towering antique shelving unit from France.
      An antique French shelving unit is used to display ceramicsAt the centre of the room, a row of sandy beige sofas backs onto a biombo screen made from stacked ceramic modules.
      “It was a lot of fun to assemble it,” García-Nieto said. “It was like playing Tetris between five people.”
      The guest suites are finished in a colour-sparse but texture-heavy paletteCeramics also feature heavily throughout the rest of The Lodge, with many left over from the farmhouse and others made by local craftsmen.
      Among them are the decorative vases found in each guest room, which are handmade from black clay by a master potter.
      “We love what pottery represents – an element so closely linked to the earth that man has used since ancient times to turn it into essential pieces for his way of life,” García-Nieto said.
      Each suite has its own patioThe 18 suites that aren’t set inside the main farmhouse can be accessed via a short ride on one of the hotel’s bicycles or golf buggies.
      Modelled on the renovated farmhouse with its irregular gables, each of these cabins features a dramatic single-pitch roof with the ceiling beams left exposed on the inside.
      The same texture-heavy but colour-sparse palette from the main building is also carried over into the suites.
      Guests can navigate the estates using bikesInterest is provided by combining different kinds of timber, from the pale, raw-edged coat stands to the Japanese-style charred-wood stools.
      All of the suites have a private Mallorcan patio to provide a greater connection to the surrounding farmland, which the hotel is using to grow produce for the Singular restaurant and for Finca Serena – Único Hotels’ other outpost on the island.
      A long infinity pool provides respite from the heatThe Tramuntana mountain range occupies roughly 30 per cent of Mallorca’s terrain and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich agricultural history.
      Much of the surrounding area is still used for farming today – for example by the Son Juliana wine company, which has a solar-powered winery at the foot of the mountain range that is made from local sandstone with wicker sunshades and cork-insulated roofs.
      Increasingly, tourists are also being drawn away from Mallorca’s pristine beaches and towards Tramuntana’s dramatic landscapes, with the opening of several new hotels including The Olive Houses – a group of off-grid guesthouses, where craggy boulders jut through the walls and into the interiors.
      The photography is by Montse Garriga.

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      Hawaiian heritage informs Wayfinder Waikiki hotel by The Vanguard Theory

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      Honolulu design studio The Vanguard Theory has created interiors for a hotel on Waikiki Beach that “embrace the brutalist architecture” of the building, while adding tropical touches to the decor.

      The Wayfinder Waikiki offers 228 guest rooms just a few blocks from the famous surfing beach of the same name in the Hawaiian capital, on the island of Oahu.
      In the bedrooms at the Wayfinder Waikiki, rounded headboards feature a mix of patternsLocal firm The Vanguard Theory waas behind the transformation of an existing brutalist building into a colour-filled hotel that nods to both indigenous Hawaiian and imported traditions.
      “Celebrating the rich diversity and multicultural fabric of Hawaii, touches of Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino, and European details are all blended together, creating Kama’aina style,” said the hotel.
      The rooms are decorated in different colour combinationsA variety of different guest room sizes and types are available, from standard doubles all the way up to premium pool house studios.

      The rooms feature custom-designed wooden furniture and works by local artists and are decorated in different colour combinations that each reflect the natural world.
      The rooms range in size from standard double to pool house suitesGreen and coral hues are indicative of land, shades of blue and turquoise echo the sea, and gold and grey tones were chosen to represent the sky.
      Wainscoting adds dimension to the walls, some of which are painted in colour floor-to-ceiling, while others stop midway and continue in white to make the spaces feel bright.

      BHDM uses neons to make Shoreline Waikiki “the most instagrammable hotel in Hawaii”

      Round patterned headboards were created as a blend of “Japanese obi sashes, Polynesian-influenced tribal prints and plaid palaka fabric reflective of historic Portuguese ranchers” according to the hotel.
      The cords of bedside pendant lamps are laced with pikake and pakalana flowers – both native to Hawaii.
      The hotel’s lobby includes seating areas, a coffee bar and a shop selling merchandiseA similar design language is found in the lobby, where plants and floral prints sit side by side against concrete surfaces and leather furniture.
      Connected to the reception area along a counter with a fluted blue front is B-Side, a coffee shop from which guests can also purchase cocktails, light bites and hotel merchandise.
      The Redfish restaurant serves an all-day poke menuMore formal dining can be enjoyed at Redfish, an all-day poke restaurant where highly tonal wood panels cover large expanses of the walls and ceiling.
      Next to the 70-foot (21 metres) saltwater “lagoon” pool is a bar called Lost + Found that serves frozen tropical cocktails, plus a range of other drinks and snacks. There’s also an on-site gym.
      Guests can swim in a saltwater “lagoon” poolWayfinder Waikiki is the second location in owner Dovetail + Co’s Wayfinder portfolio, following its outpost in Newport, Rhode Island.
      It joins a wide range of accommodation options in Honolulu, a hugely popular tourist destination, including the mid-century influenced Laylow Hotel and the brightly coloured Shoreline Waikiki.
      The photography is by Mariko Reed, Read McKendree and Surf Please.

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      Fred Rigby Studio creates dried flower meadow inside Lestrange’s Coal Drops Yard store

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      Forest sounds and furnishings made from storm-stricken trees bring elements of nature into this menswear boutique in London’s King’s Cross, designed by local practice Fred Rigby Studio.

      The store is the fourth outpost from men’s fashion brand Lestrange and was conceived based on blueprints by biophilic design expert Oliver Heath, combining greenery with reclaimed and natural materials to forge a greater connection to the outdoors.
      Fred Rigby Studio has designed the latest Lestrange boutique in LondonAccording to Fred Rigby Studio, this approach was chosen to reflect the brand’s philosophy of using renewable and recycled fibres to produce clothing with longevity.
      “We wanted to create a sense of calm within the space, which didn’t feel like a generic shop but an interior which told a story behind the clothing and the brand’s ethos,” explained the studio’s eponymous founder.
      Rice paper lanterns are suspended at varying heights throughout the spaceThe Lestrange store is set inside the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard shopping centre, formed of two converted warehouses that were originally built in the Victorian era to store the vast quantities of coal needed by the capital.

      Rigby wanted to incorporate this imposing brick structure into his final design.
      Tactile plaster was used to cover the walls”We didn’t want to hide this history by covering it up, which would have also entailed using construction materials,” he told Dezeen.
      “So we celebrated it, breaking the space up using timber walls and cladding, then adding the rice paper lights to give the space a more intimate feel.”
      The same finish was also applied to a trio of display shelvesUsing the existing site as his canvas, Rigby focused on sourcing a tight edit of natural and reclaimed materials.
      “There are lots of new materials on the market, but finding those that are produced in quantity and applicable to commercial use can be a challenge,” he said.

      Bath’s Francis Gallery is set inside a Georgian townhouse

      London plane timber – harvested from “storm-stricken and diseased trees” within a few miles of King’s Cross – was used to form the partitions that define the store’s display and changing areas, as well as some bespoke furniture pieces.
      British manufacturer Clayworks blended unfired clays with minerals and natural pigments to create the tactile wall finishes, while the terrazzo-style countertops were made by Welsh company Smile Plastics using a mix of recycled plastics from discarded mobile phone casings and chopping boards.
      The changing rooms are clad in panels of London plane timberAs the ultimate counterpoint to the mass and severity of the brick, Rigby conceived the idea of an indoor meadow that meanders through the Lestrange store.
      The arrangement of natural dried flowers and grasses was realised by award-winning garden designer Lottie Delamain, integrating a carefully chosen mix of species to reflect the fibres commonly used in apparel manufacture such as cotton and flax.
      “We wanted to bring nature inside, using plants linked to the clothes while creating a touch point to the materiality,” said Rigby.
      Garden designer Lottie Delamain created a dried flower meadow for the storeClothes are displayed on simple white metal rails and the capacious open-topped dressing rooms feature speakers playing forest sounds, complemented by discreet wall lights that cast a subtle glow.
      There are also subtle nods to Japanese design in the form of the rice paper lampshades that float at varying heights throughout the store.
      The flowers are set in wood-framed stone beds”We started with a mixture of initial references, one of which was a teahouse designed by Charlotte Perriand,” said Rigby.
      “We wanted to create a material-focused space with nods to natural materials such as the rice paper lights, which we felt would add to the space and create a sense of calm and stillness.”
      The Lestrange shop is set inside the Coal Drops Yard shopping centrePrevious projects from Rigby, who founded his studio in 2008, include bespoke furnishings for a renovated 1920s office building in London as well as the interiors of Bath’s Francis Gallery, which is set inside a Georgian townhouse.
      The photography is by Felix Speller.

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      There’s still time to be listed on Dezeen’s digital guide for London Design Festival 2023

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      You can still list your London Design Festival 2023 event on Dezeen’s Events Guide’s digital guide to the festival, which takes place in venues across the city from 16 to 24 September.

      The festival offers a programme of exhibitions, installations, tours, open showrooms, workshops, talks and networking opportunities, as well as the Design London trade show.
      2023 marks the 21st anniversary of London Design Festival, which explores crafts, fashion, art, furniture, graphic and digital design, urban planning and education.
      Our guide highlights the key events taking place during the nine-day festival, which last year spread across 12 districts in London.
      Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide to London Design Festival

      Get in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team at [email protected] to book in your listing or to discuss a wider partnership with Dezeen. There are three types of listings:
      Standard listing: For only £100, we can include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event. Standard listings are included at the discretion of the Dezeen Events Guide team.
      Enhanced listing: For £150, you will receive all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the London Design Festival festival guide page. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
      Featured listing: For £300, your listing will feature everything as part of an enhanced listing plus inclusion in the featured events carousel and social media posts on our @dezeenguide channels. This includes one post per channel: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and up to 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers, and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales, newsletter signups etc.
      The London Design Festival guide follows the success of our digital guide for Milan design week 2023, which received over 75,000 page views.
      About Dezeen Events Guide
      Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.
      The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
      For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to London Design Festival, email [email protected].
      The illustration is by Justyna Green.

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      Shiftspace brings IM Pei rowhouse in Philadelphia back to “original vision”

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      US studio Shiftspace has renovated a rowhouse in Philadelphia originally designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei, restoring its original qualities after decades of alterations.

      Designed by Pei as part of a row of houses in the 1950s, the three-storey unit in the Society Hill neighbourhood had undergone several renovations and extensions over the years.
      Shiftspace was tasked with paring back these alterations to restore Pei’s original vision while enhancing it with contemporary details.
      Shiftspace has renovated an IM Pei-designed rowhouse in Philadelphia”Understanding Pei’s original vision for these houses, we approached this project with a sense of reverence that allowed us to see our design as enhancements to that original vision rather than starting from a blank canvas,” said Shiftspace partner Tim Barnes.
      Rowhouses are common in Philadelphia and sometimes referred to colloquially as “rowhomes”. Much of the city’s housing of this typology was built in the late-18th and early-19th centuries.

      According to Shiftspace, Pei designed the Society Hill townhouses to “bridge the gap” between these brick rowhomes and his nearby condominium, Society Hill Towers.
      It was originally built in the 1950sThe original exterior of the home has been retained. It consists of a mostly brick facade punctuated at the street-facing side by a large window with a small steel balcony.
      At the top of the home is a band of concrete-framed clerestory windows.
      Wooden louvres replace wallsInside, a central staircase that reaches from the basement to the third storey is essential to the redesign. Cleaving to Pei’s vision, Shiftspace has reoriented the home around this spiral stair and introduced a series of open-concept living spaces.
      The updated floorplans follow a typical format, with public spaces on the first three floors and three bedrooms on the fourth.
      At ground level, a curved breakfast nook with banquet seating leads to a kitchen that sits between the central staircase and a wall, and back into a dining area that has access to a garden patio. Here, some solid walls have been replaced with wooden louvres.
      The home is oriented around a spiral staircaseAbove are a living room and a study, separated by the staircase, as well as rearranged bedrooms and bathrooms.
      Two of the bedrooms on the top floor share a bathroom, while the main sleeping space has an ensuite. The bathrooms are tucked into spaces attached to the central core.
      “Our design reverted back to Pei’s original concept using a centralized core for all circulation, bath and mechanical spaces while reconfiguring for a master suite, kitchen, and entry area,” said founding partner Mario Gentile.

      “With IM Pei’s death, the last of the modern monument makers has passed”

      The studio added a new frame to the oculus at the top of the staircase that circulates additional light to the largely windowless structure. It also added skylights to the bedrooms.
      Minimising divides between rooms also allowed for further circulation throughout the home and for more light to penetrate the lower levels from the oculus.
      Shiftspace wanted to honour Pei’s original visionThe design was geared towards a more active lifestyle, which led to the addition of bike storage tucked away into nooks in the basement and on the ground floor.
      Shiftspace completed the renovation with a light-toned colour palette for the more public spaces and darker hues for the bedrooms and study.
      Pei was born in Guangzhou, China in 1917 and emigrated to the United States in 1935, where he founded a studio today known as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. He designed a number of noteworthy buildings including Dallas City Hall and the Grand Louvre pyramid in Paris.
      Other buildings of his to be renovated include the Eskenazi Museum in Indiana.

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      MRDK uses arches and mosaics for Ciele Athletics store in Montreal

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      Rounded walls and archways create a flow through this Montreal boutique, designed by local studio MRDK for Canadian sportswear brand Ciele Athletics.

      The first boutique for Ciele, which sells technical headwear and apparel for running, opened in April 2023 on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal – the brand’s hometown.
      Black and white mosaic tiles form a pattern based on Ciele’s apparel at the entrance to the storeThe 3,000-square-foot (279-square-metre) flagship store was designed by MRDK to be as much a boutique as a community space for runners to meet and socialise.
      Along the narrow entryway, flooring comprises black and white mosaic tiles that form a graphic pattern based on select items of the brand’s apparel.
      Visitors are lead past a quartet of mannequins to a community lounge areaAscending four steps or a ramp leads visitors past a large white-tiled planter, then a display of mannequins lined up in front of a brick wall.

      A lounge area at the end is designated for gathering and conversation, offering “anyone with an interest in movement and connection a chance to experience running and the many facets of its dynamic community through regular meet-ups and events”, said MRDK.
      Access to the main retail space is via an archway that punctures a dark green partitionAccess to the main retail space is through an archway with rounded corners that punctures a deep, dark green partition.
      “An arched wall gracefully separates the more public community area from the rest of the store, creating a sense of intrigue and inviting exploration,” MRDK said.
      The green hue continues behind the fluted white service counterOther similar openings in this spatial divider are used to display clothing on single or double-stacked rails.
      The same forest green shade continues on the wall behind the service counter, which is fronted by a white fluted panel and includes a small glass vitrine set into its top.
      Lime plaster covers the angled walls, which feature bull-nose edges that soften their appearanceHerringbone white oak parquet floors are laid wall to wall, running beneath a low central island that is designed to be broken apart and moved around the store depending on merchandising needs.
      A textured lime plaster finish was applied to the walls, wrapping around the bull-nosed corners that soften the angles created by the offset displays.

      MRDK creates a “journey through nature” at Attitude boutique in Montreal

      “The play of light and shadows on these textured surfaces creates a sense of dynamism, accentuating the uniqueness of the space,” said MRDK.
      In one corner, a 12-foot-tall (3.7-metre) shelving system presents Ciele’s range of hats on cork mannequin heads.
      A tall shelving system displays Ciele’s hat collectionFitting rooms at the back of the store are kept minimal, with green velvet curtain draped behind the arched openings to the cubicles.
      “The thoughtful combination of materials, textures, and colours creates an atmosphere that seamlessly blends modernity with a touch of timeless elegance,” said MRDK.
      The fitting rooms are kept minimalist and feature green velvet curtainsFormerly known as Ménard Dworkind, the studio was founded by Guillaume Ménard and David Dworkind, and has completed a variety of retail spaces in Montreal and beyond.
      Most recently, these have included a store for plastic-free beauty brand Attitude.
      The photography is by David Dworkind and Alex Lesage.
      Project credits:
      Team: David Dworkind, Benjamin Lavoie LarocheContractor: Groupe ManovraCeramic floor tile: DaltileLighting: SistemaluxLime plaster: VenosaWood profiles: Brenlo

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