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    Selfridges launches The Joke Shop with playful Slapstick Generator artwork

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    London department store Selfridges has opened The Joke Shop, a “shoppable comedy store” that sells products including sneezing powder and has windows filled with whoopee cushions and slipping bananas.

    Located in the corner store space on Selfridges’ ground-floor level, The Joke Shop pop-up store was designed by the retailer’s in-house team.
    The Joke Shop has a fake entrance with nostalgic typefacesThe shop, which the retailer describes as a “shoppable comedy store”, sells joke shop products such as whoopee cushions and sneezing powder, together with fashion pieces from designers including Judith Leiber and Adam Jones.
    Selfridges worked with five joke stores across the UK to get the right atmosphere for The Joke Shop, which Selfridges executive creative director Laura Weir hoped “would platform the power of nostalgia and in-person human connection”.
    The shop sells a mix of playful toys and fashion items”The Selfridges creative team travelled the country visiting local joke shops and found institutions that were rich in inspiration and personality,” Weir told Dezeen.

    “We used more found and vintage pieces than we might usually in the space and as a result, a customer asked me ‘what did you use for the smell?'” she added. “The impression of a genuine joke shop was so strong that customers felt we had scented the space, which we hadn’t.”
    Artist Mel Brimfield created Slapstick Generators for the storeThe Joke Shop also features the Slapstick Generator, an artwork by artist Mel Brimfield that appears ready to drop buckets of paints and anvils on visitors to the store.
    A second Slapstick Generator outside the store threatens to release a boulder on the person at the Selfridges Concierge desk outside The Joke Shop, while a third sits in one of its windows.
    One appears ready to drop a boulder”I love the sheer scale of it, the detail of each mechanism and the sense of movement,” Weir said of the Slapstick Generator.
    A fake door, which fills another of the windows, was inspired by nostalgic typefaces and handwritten wayfinding.
    “Above the door, we worked with Peckham-based signwriter and mural artist Matt Rogers who hand-painted the signs to give a nod to the British joke shops,” Weir said.

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    “Some of my favourite touches were the graphic stickers on the door, which disclosed a funny rating instead of a hygiene rating, for example, subverting classic retailing tropes with funny twists,” she added.
    “Eclectic attention to detail and intentional imperfection felt important.”
    Artist Max Siedentopf designed a display of a banana slipping on a banana peelSelfridges also commissioned artist Max Siedentopf to create installations for its other department store windows, featuring his takes on classic jokes – including a giant chicken crossing a road to get to Selfridges and a trainer-clad banana that has slipped on a peel.
    “Each window pays homage to classic jokes and pranks throughout the decades – from giant whoopee cushions, a wide collection of authentic clown shoes, pie catapults and, of course, bananas,” Siedentopf told Dezeen.
    A giant whoopee cushion fills one window”I bribed a group of monkeys with bananas to randomly select jokes for me,” he added. “Each window is unique, however every single screw, piece of wood, banana and nail were carefully selected for their comedic potential.”
    Other Selfridges retail spaces featured on Dezeen include a pop-up Kim Kardashian swimwear store and a Courvoisier bar by designer Yinka Ilori.
    The photography is courtesy of Selfridges.

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      Burdifilek creates “zen-like ambience” in Seoul shopping mall

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      Indoor trees, natural light and a sculptural 12-metre-high waterfall help to create a calming shopping experience inside the Hyundai Seoul department store in Seoul, with interiors designed by Canadian studio Burdifilek.

      Hyundai Seoul, which opened last year, is the largest shopping centre in the South Korean capital and spans 89,100 square metres – the equivalent of around 13 football fields.
      Raised platforms integrate trees and waterfalls into Hyundai Seoul’s atriumToronto-based Burdifilek was responsible for designing three of the 12 floors including a central atrium topped with a lightwell. This extends through the core of the building to funnel sun into the expansive floorplan.
      All of the retail spaces are organised around the atrium, which doubles up as a green belt to provide tranquil views of greenery and water from every vantage point.
      The platforms are held up by skinny columnsBurdifilek achieved its “zen-like ambience” through the addition of stilted platforms housing trees and waterfalls that cascade into shallow pools from a height of up to 12 metres.

      “Hyundai’s vision was to allocate 50 per cent of this floor plate to create public spaces where people can socialise in a much more experiential environment than the typical mall experience has to offer,” said Diego Burdi, co-founder and creative director of Burdifilek.
      “In the end, our solution was inspired by Seoul’s surrounding nature. We chose to bring the outside in and create something unexpected that plays with scale.”
      The second floor houses high-end womenswearThe studio designed each floor to have a distinct visual language.
      The second floor, housing high-end womenswear, is a neutral gallery-like space with a subdued tonal palette.
      Instead of flashy colours, Burdifilek created interest through the use of flowing forms, contrasting textures and layers of reflective and translucent materials.
      Rippled ceiling panels create the impression of looking up at a reflective pondMirrored panels installed along the inner edges of the ceiling are rippled like water and create the effect of glancing up at a reflecting pond.
      Custom hanging fixtures were installed to create a feeling of lightness while indirect lighting emphasises the sinuous lines of the building.

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      The third floor features similar sculptural elements to those used on the second floor. But here, forms are bolder, colours are darker and natural materials are juxtaposed with more industrial ones.
      Cobalt-blue ribbons are used to suspend clothing racks from an unfinished ceiling, while custom-built mirrored display cases allow the featured brands to take centre stage.
      Ceilings are left unfinished on the third floor”Our philosophy was to create environments on each floor that would speak to a specific demographic, with a different design language while evoking nature in the spaces in various ways,” Burdi said.
      “We also strived to create some commonality through sculptural elements that will resonate with the guests and give a physical experience of wandering and exploring.”
      Mirrored display cases allow products to take centre stageBurdifilek was co-founded by Burdi and Paul Filek in 1993.
      Previous projects by the Toronto-based firm include the flagship for Canadian jacket brand Moose Knuckles, where dimly lit interiors evoke winter’s frigid darkness.
      The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

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      Norm Architects balances “richness and restraint” in refresh of Alsterhaus' menswear department

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      Oak, grey stone and yellow-tinted glass are some of the materials that Norm Architects has used in its minimal makeover of the menswear section of German department store Alsterhaus.Alsterhaus is situated at the heart of Hamburg and first opened its doors in 1912. Spanning 24,000 square metres, the department store offers a mix of fashion, accessories, beauty products and homeware.
      Norm Architects was tasked with refurbishing the long-standing store’s menswear section, which featured lack-lustre white walls and herringbone walls.

      The practice was keen to create a “unity of different universes” across the men’s section that would offer customers a richer experience than shopping online – but also wanted the architecture and material palette of the space to look inherently “pure”.

      The work of American-German architect Mies van der Rohe and Austrian-Czech architect Adolf Loos became a key point of reference.

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      “A department store is a visually busy place and we realized early in the process that the design needed to be pared down and clear conceptually – ruling out strong patterns and ornamentation,” said Sofie Thorning, associate partner at Norm Architects.
      “We looked to Mies van der Rohe and Adolf Loos for inspiration on natural materials with inherent characteristics that form textures and colours while evoking sensations of warmth, cold balancing feelings of soft and hard to the touch,” she told Dezeen.

      The menswear section is now orientated around a colonnade comprising a sequence of oakwood frames.
      It leads off to various brand concessions that are each fronted by gunmetal signs denoting their name.

      While some areas boast plush carpeting, a majority of the floor has been clad with pale-grey Ceppo di Gre stone tiles.
      “This balance between richness and restraint affords the user a unique and engaging shopping experience, relying on a considered quality of materiality and space,” added Thorning.

      Garments hang from rectangular black-metal frames that descend from the ceiling, while smaller accessories like shoes or lifestyle items are presented on bespoke steel or dark-wood shelving units.
      Pops of colour are offered by yellow-tinted glass clothing stands and blocky display plinths crafted from milky-green natural stone.

      Norm Architects has been established since 2008 and was founded by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn Von Lotzbeck. Its most recent projects include the creation of a Copenhagen hotel that doubles as a showroom and the refurbishment of a pair of Tokyo apartments.
      The practice also is longlisted in the interior designer of the year category in this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      Photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects.

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