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Marble covered with plaster and metal treated with acid are among the repurposed materials used by Japanese architect Shogo Onodera to minimise waste while fitting out the flagship store of fashion brand IZA Tokyo. More
Brazilian studios Vaga Arquitectura and Atelier Pistache Ganache teamed up to design a “consumer-first” boutique outfit with curving coral walls for a mattress company in Sāo Paulo. More
Los Angeles-based studio 22RE has combined metal grids, black and mirrored surfaces, and bold splashes of colour inside this men’s multi-brand boutique in the city’s Arts District.
The second Departamento location is situated in the Signal retail enclave, which occupies a series of warehouses southeast of Downtown LA.
The Departamento store features custom elements like a green fibreglass and resin jewellery displayUsing the building’s industrial bones to inform design decisions, 22RE took styling sensibilities of 20th-century modernists like Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra.
“Inside, 22RE leans into the original architecture’s industrial elements through a deconstructivist lens,” said the studio.
From inside a coffee shop, visitors pass through a concealed entrance and a mirrored portal to access the storeThe store’s entrance is concealed inside a Concierge Coffee, leading to a mirrored portal that opens onto the shop floor.
While the layout follows a typical grid, the designers have inserted a variety of partitions, volumes and displays that “disrupt” the flow and encourage shoppers to explore.
A triangular niche with mirrored walls creates infinite reflections”This non-linear layout challenges the traditional browsing experience and provides an unconventional yet effective approach to shopping,” said 22RE.
A pair of curved metal-clad walls that evoke a Richard Serra sculpture form a narrow corridor from one area to another, while also displaying garments on their concave sides.
Partitions and volumes are strategically placed to frame views and encourage explorationBlackened wood panels form an enclosed space, inside which bright white walls and repurposed wooden framing contrast dramatically with the rest of the store interior.
“The space, entered via a slatted, sliding door, invites guests to experience the collection in a ryokan-inspired setting, evoking the traditional Japanese inn,” said 22RE.
A red cylindrical element acts a fitting roomThis shop-in-shop was designed in collaboration with fashion brand Taiga Takahashi, and also features shelving made from tatami mats and flooring intended to resemble pebble stones.
Another triangular niche features mirrored walls that create infinite reflections of the apparel and the aubergine-coloured carpet on the floor.
22RE invokes “stillness” inside green Miami golfing boutique
“Collections are hung and displayed via monolithic and sculpturesque forms that divide up the space, creating a fluid but juxtaposing dichotomy between the heavier wood forms and the lighter metallic elements,” 22RE said.
A red cylindrical volume is used as a fitting room, while further dressing areas are tucked away behind silver curtains.
22RE collaborated with Taiga Takahashi on a blackened wood shop-in-shop spaceCustom elements include a green fibreglass resin-and-foam jewellery case and a chiselled aluminium side table.
A white aluminium ceiling grid stretches across the entire store, extending over all of the freestanding elements, with lighting embedded behind creating futuristic glowing patches.
Influenced by Japanese ryokan inns, the space features white walls and repurposed timber framing22RE was founded by principal Dean Levin in 2021, and has since completed a range of interior design projects across the US.
The studio recently wrapped up the offices for a creative music agency in LA that include a 1970s-style sunken meeting room and a golf clothing boutique in Miami lined with pale-green stucco.
The photography is by Erik Stackpole Undehn.
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Shiny silver curtains and a lacquered burgundy stage feature inside the flagship store for Danish womenswear label Rotate, which opened in Copenhagen during fashion week.
Locally based French designer Thibaut Allgayer designed the two-level store on Kristen Bernikows Gade.
Rotate’s flagship store features a mirrored counter and a lacquered burgundy stageIt is the first physical location for Rotate, which was launched by stylist influencers Thora Valdimars and Jeanette Friis Madsen in 2018 and is part of the Birger Christensen Collective.
Allgayer’s design concept was to create a series of freestanding architectural elements that divide the space into different zones and allow it to function in different ways.
The counter is formed of three stacked semi-circles”We were thinking about what a flagship store for a brand is today,” explained Allgayer during a preview tour.
“It’s not only about selling clothes; it’s a destination,” he told Dezeen. “It should also be welcoming for parties and events, creating different experiences.”
Burgundy wall units organise the ground-floor spaceA mirrored counter, formed of three stacked semi-circles, is the first thing customers see as they arrive.
This polished stainless-steel element rotates around an existing column, allowing it to function as a checkout desk, a bar or a display unit.
Orange floors create “golden afterglow” in Aranya fashion store by Say Architects
Also in this room, a triangular set of steps can serve as a seating area or a stage. With its high-shine burgundy lacquer finish, it provides a focal point in the corner of the space.
Wall units with the same burgundy lacquer finish divide the front of the store from the rear, creating a narrow central corridor with video screens integrated into the walls.
Silver curtains frame an oval roomThis leads through to an oval room framed by silver curtains, slender graphic display rails and a curvy white sofa.
A custom-built brushed-steel staircase connects the ground floor with the basement, a carpeted space with a dressing-room feel. Details include silk curtains, a daybed and a vertical lighting fixture.
Fitting rooms offer a kaleidoscopic effectChanging rooms are slotted in behind the new fixture, with mirrors creating a kaleidoscopic effect.
“The brand plays with this contrast between raw and sleek, fun and serious, soft and strict, colourful and neutral,” said Allgayer.
“I was trying to translate that into the architecture.”
A custom-built brushed-steel staircase leads downstairsCombined with the silver and burgundy elements, a muted green shade brings an edgy feel to the colour palette.
Allgayer also played with transparency, texture and reflection, with materials including granite and glass.
The basement is a carpeted space with a dressing-room feel”I was trying to find materials that reflect the brand’s values,” said Allgayer.
“The space needs to be neutral because the collection is going to change season to season. But neutrals for me are not necessarily about being grey.”
The design plays with transparency, texture and reflectionRotate opened its doors for the first time on 5 August, coinciding with the start of Copenhagen Fashion Week.
It is an important milestone for the fast-growing label, described by Vogue as “a go-to partywear brand”. The ambition is for Rotate to become a major Scandinavian export, following in the footsteps of Ganni.
“Rotate is a brand with a beating heart and unique DNA,” said Madsen and Validmars, who serve as the label’s creative directors.
The store is located on Kristen Bernikows Gade in Copenhagen”We have had a strong sense of the world that our brand has existed in for so many years, that the opening of the store is an organic progression,” the duo continued.
“We are thrilled to host our loyal community, and offer a space where they can feel at home, engaged and excited in our hometown of Copenhagen.”
The photography is courtesy of Rotate.
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New York studio BoND has created a “feminine, organic” interior for Brazilian brand PatBo’s store in Miami Design District, complete with a dramatic sweeping staircase.
The two-level retail space was designed by BoND following the studio’s work on the PatBo headquarters in Manhattan, which opened last year.
The ground floor space at PatBo’s Miami store features tall ceilings, terrazzo flooring and sculptural displaysThe team took a similarly soft, feminine approach in the Miami flagship, pairing white and pale pink with rich woods and brass accents.
“The new store is an artful and site-specific reinterpretation of the feminine, organic aesthetic that is synonymous with the brand’s stores in Brazil,” said BoND.
A ribbon-like balustrade follows the staircase up through the store, circling oversized silk flowers by Hana FormEntering under a dramatic arched canopy, customers find themselves within a tall, bright space featuring terrazzo flooring, geometric wooden display plinths and brass rails.
Hints of green marble can be spied in custom furniture pieces, as well as the stair treads and risers hidden behind a solid, ribbon-like guardrail.
An arched opening leads through to bright coral-coloured fitting roomsAn arched opening beside the register leads into a bright, coral-coloured changing area, where terracotta tiles cover the floor.
The staircase glides up the curved back wall of the store, and rises through a gap in the upper floor plate, around which the balustrade circles back on itself.
Darker woods and carpet create a more intimate atmosphere on the upper level”A winding white and green marble staircase serves as a focal point of the space connecting visitors to the second-floor salon and dressing area,” said the studio.
Curved wood panels and caramel-coloured carpet provide a more intimate atmosphere upstairs, exaggerated by the lower ceiling height.
The warmly lit fitting rooms on the upper level are lined with curved wood panelsThe brass railings continue, whereas the coral fitting rooms are swapped for wood-lined chambers with curved corners and warm lighting.
“An overarching geometry of soft curves is a running thread that ties all spaces together,” the studio said.
BoND uses pink scaffolding at New York “embassy” for fashion brand PatBo
Furniture pieces including Frank Gehry’s Wiggle chair, a green marble coffee table and a curved grey sofa form a seating area for customers to relax while they shop.
Overhead are a pair of oversized silk flowers by artist Hana Form, which also appear on the ground floor suspended through the staircase void.
Green marble appears behind the facade, as well as on the staircase and custom furniture insideBoND also created a facade of pale pink wooden slats to help the building to stand out in the Miami Design District, where brands are encouraged to get creative with their frontages.
A Louis Vuitton store wrapped in a diamond-patterned facade by Marcel Wanders and a Kengo Kuma-designed block of sculptural buildings are among other examples.
BoND wrapped the store exterior in pale pink wood slats to help it stand out in the Miami Design DistrictBoND was founded by Noam Dvir and Daniel Rauchwerger, whose studio has also completed a bold yellow scheme for a men’s apparel store in New York.
The firm’s other projects include the renovation of a mid-century Sears Catalog kit house in Fire Island Pines and a Manhattan hair salon featuring wooden frames and moveable styling stations.
The photography is by Studio Pyg.
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New York studio ANY has designed the first physical retail space for streetwear brand Vowels, including an 18-metre-long “library” that holds a rotating collection of design books.
The appointment-only showroom at 76 Bowery in Manhattan opened to coincide with the launch of Vowels’ debut “made in Japan” capsule collection.
The Vowels showroom in Manhattan contrasts raw concrete and crisp white wallsCreative director Yuki Yagi worked with ANY co-founder Nile Greenberg to create a multi-functional environment that can display apparel, host events and offer customers access to a curation collection of books.
The narrow space features exposed concrete surfaces and exposed services, contrasted by a minimalist white volume inserted on one side.
The space includes a compact exhibition area called the Study that will feature rotating displaysAt the front, this box forms an exhibition space named the Study that’s visible from the street through the fully glazed facade.
Hosting a rotating display of objects and artworks, the exhibitions will inform the collection of printed materials displayed in the store.
The opening exhibition features Edo-period Japanese furniture sourced in the Yamanashi PrefectureA large wooden door swing over a hole in the clean white wall that allows access into the showcase, while the same richly grained material forms a sales counter at the other end of the showroom.
Meanwhile, the rare books, magazines and periodicals are stored and presented within a long, glossy black case that stretches 60 feet (18 metres) through the centre of the showroom.
A custom case filled with hundreds of rare design books stretches through the centre of the showroom”The curated selection, categorised by the Vowels team of researchers and designers, is organised using a system that follows the letters A, E, I, O, and U,” the team said.
“This archive of printed materials is part of Yagi’s personal collection, serving as reference and inspiration throughout his career.”
Checkerboard walls wrap Awake NY store by Rafael de Cárdenas
Visitors are encouraged to peruse the collection, and use computers equipped with high-resolution scanners to make digital copies of materials.
“The space at once recalls both a clean working environment and a comfortable reading room,” said the brand.
Vowels’ debut capsule collection is displayed towards the rearTowards the back of the showroom is a wider area where a platform with bleacher seating and speakers built into mesh boxes is used for programming like film screenings, talks, panel discussions and music performances.
Coffee service with beans sourced from Japan and the Vowels capsule collection are also accommodated in the rear space, while photos of the campaign shot by renowned Japanese photographer Takashi Homma are displayed alongside the library.
Both the showroom and exhibition space are visible through the fully glazed facade on BoweryThe Vowels showroom borders the Lower East Side neighbourhood, where many streetwear brands have physical shops and showrooms.
Other recent additions to the retail scene in the area include the yellow-hued Le Père store by BoND and the checkerboard-wrapped Awake NY space by Rafael de Cárdenas.
The photography is by Dean Kaufman.
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Mexico City studio MYT+GLVDK has designed a concept store in the south of the Mexican capital, featuring a staircase with both concave and convex portions beneath a vaulted ceiling.
Uncommon Ground is a high-end fashion and accessories boutique situated in the Artz Pedregal shopping mall, close to the city’s southern periphery.
The Uncommon Ground boutique is divided into a main floor and a mezzanine level at the backMYT+GLVDK, led by Andrés Mier y Terán and Regina Galvanduque, was commissioned to design the architecture, furnishings and interiors for the store that carries brands including Courrèges, Maison Kitsuné, Ami Paris, Officine Générale and Moscot.
“The hallmark of Uncommon Ground is to display the latest tendencies in clothing and accessories based on a dedicated edition of trends and themes that capture the air du temps of the season,” said Mier y Terán and Galvanduque.
The two levels are connected by a double-conical staircaseThe duo decided to create multiple display areas across the 246-square-metre main floor and a 40-square-metre mezzanine at the back.
These two levels are connected by a circular staircase with concentric treads that splay outward in a semi-circle on its lower half and are set inward like an amphitheatre on the top half.
A vaulted ceiling comprising tubes wrapped in recycled cowhide arches over the spaceBeneath the mezzanine, the conical form of the upper steps is expressed as bands of brushed brass, which are reflected in golden mirrored panels across the adjoining wall and low ceiling.
More semi-circular steps below form a display for shoes within this back room, where other garments are hung in niches on either side.
Beneath the mezzanine, the staircase is expressed as a series of brushed-brass bands above a stepped shoe displayThe main floor, where the ceiling is double-height, is covered by a vaulted ceiling made up of ribbed elements wrapped in recycled cowhide.
In the centre of the space, a structural column and diagonal beam are incorporated “a focal point that continues with the rhythm of geometric shapes and lends character to the overall concept” according to the designers.
MYT+GLVDK completes eclectic food court Cocina Abierta in Mexico City
A colour scheme of yellow, beige and terracotta is applied across the architectural elements and the furniture, which is also designed in cylindrical and arc shapes.
“The use of clean lines, tubular segments and curves can be seen in every direction as an organic sequence of impressive visual strength,” said MYT+GLVDK.
Furniture throughout the store is designed in cylindrical and arc shapesThe lighting scheme includes a series of light boxes placed within display niches on both levels, to highlight the products, as well as track and spotlights that give the entire store a warm glow.
The Uncommon Ground logo is illuminated vertically on the central column and horizontally above the fully glazed storefront.
The boutique is located inside the Artz Pedregal shopping mall in the south of Mexico CityAlso in Artz Pedregal, MYT+GLVDK previously designed the Cocina Abierta food court that takes cues from Japanese and Mexican design traditions.
Elsewhere in the city, the studio recently completed the interiors of fast-casual restaurant Órale Milanga, where exposed concrete walls are covered in wavy green metal mesh.
The photography is by Alfonso de Béjar.
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Toronto architecture studio Partisans has used parametric modelling to create an undulating stone storefront for luxury watch brand Rolex.
Partisans’ latest application of its digital modelling and fabrication technique resulted in a sculptural facade that wraps the ground floor of a high-rise on Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto.
The flowing lines of the Rolex store’s limestone facade emanate from the building’s existing architectural featuresThe studio worked with Italian architect Arturo Tedeschi on the project, which is intended to give the store presence and allow it to stand out from others in the busy shopping district, as well as reflect the high-precision of Rolex timepieces.
Limestone panels affixed to the building’s exterior are shaped to echo the forms and textures of the brand’s watches.
The stone panels are shaped to curve around windows and emulate the brand’s watch designsThe material was chosen for its luxurious appearance and longevity, according to Partisans founder Josephson, who said: “Stone is future heritage, it’s having a renaissance.”
The panels continue the geometry of the existing building features, such as the rigid vertical mullions, but flow into softer shapes that curve around large windows and over the entrance awning.
More stone appears in the boutique’s interior. Photo by Robert Lowdon Photography”Each stone bay was cut according to measurements found through 3D scans of the existing building,” said Partisans designer Ian Pica-Limbaseanu.
Niches are integrated into the stonework to house cove lighting that washes over the curvaceous forms at night, yet the junctions between the stone and the glass were trickiest to detail, according to Pica-Limbaseanu.
Dark green seating matches a glass artwork, while walnut panelling and furniture contrast the paler stone. Photo by Robert Lowdon Photography”The window detailing, specifically, had a tall order of requirements to satisfy,” he said.
“Not only did it need to meet the exterior stonework at exact locations accurate to within a quarter of an inch, but it also needed to allow for easy maintenance and proper energy performance for what was otherwise an utterly unprecedented look to glazing on Bloor Street.”
Partisans creates pixelated brick facade for Toronto house
Tedeschi applied his computational design skills to create an algorithm for the parametric compositions etched into the limestone across the east facade.
These forms follow the geometries of engravings seen on watch-face dials while also responding to the unique qualities of the structure’s elevation.
Niches in the limestone facade house cove lights that wash over the facade at nightThe store interiors feature plenty more stone, whose creamy tone is contrasted with dark walnut panelling and furniture.
Dark green seating matches a glass wall artwork that bears the Rolex logo, which separates the main shop floor with a more intimate lounge area tucked behind.
The facade was designed to reflect the high-precision of Rolex timepieces and to stand out on Toronto’s high-end Bloor StreetPartisans has previously used parametric design tools to create a rolling, pixellated brick facade for a single-family home, and a high-rise informed by architectural “revision clouds” – both in Toronto.
The firm was founded by Josephson in 2012, and has since completed a pool house in Ontario with an undulating timber roof and a lakeside sauna designed as a cavernous wooden grotto.
The photography is by Doublespace Photography, unless stated otherwise.
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Romanian practice Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio played with the idea of “blurry vision” in this eyewear store in Bucharest, where pixelated furnishings sit against translucent latex curtains.
This is the third space that Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio has designed for Lunet, having worked on the eyewear brand’s inaugural Bucharest store and another branch in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
Lunet has opened its second store in the Romanian capitalThe interiors of the two other locations play with colour and metallics, but the firm wanted this store to look like “a playful and pixelated environment”.
“All the shapes and volumes are stylised and synthesised to their essence, stripped of unnecessary information so that they become almost low-resolution images, containing only the vital information,” Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio explained.
Cutouts around the shelves are meant to make them look pixelatedGlasses are displayed on tall wooden shelving units that were installed at intervals around the store’s periphery, with square cutouts designed to mimic the blocky form of pixels.
Translucent latex curtains were hung between the shelves. “[They] give depth and texture to the otherwise straight walls, granting it almost a blurry vision-like effect,” added the studio.
Similar pixel-style cutouts can be seen on the store’s chairs, rug and service deskMore glasses are showcased on freestanding L-shaped partitions, each incorporating a full-length mirror and set on wheels so they can be easily moved around.
A seating area at the heart of the store is furnished with two wide-set wooden chairs, their armrests featuring the same pixelated edging as the shelves.
Underneath the chairs is a large burnt-orange rug with pixel-shaped openings that offer fun peeks at the store’s gridded tile flooring.
Gridded tile flooring runs throughout the spacePixel-style cutouts were also made in the wooden service desk, which sits directly beneath a lightbox displaying Lunet’s logo.
Eye tests are carried out in a secondary room towards the rear of the store. All the walls here were painted brick-red except one, which features a brightly-hued surrealist graphic of a woman wearing sunglasses.
The eye test room includes a graphic feature wallA number of other architects and designers have incorporated pixels into their projects. Canadian studio Partisans used pale yellow bricks to create an undulating pixelated facade for a home in Toronto.
And ODA also staggered apartment blocks to form a pixelated residential block in New York.
The photography is by Vlad Patru.
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