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    Mooradian Studio sprays London boutique interior with recycled newspaper pulp

    Architecture office Mooradian Studio used spray-on paper pulp to create a bumpy texture across the walls and ceilings of north London menswear store Natalino.

    Taking over a former art gallery in Fitzrovia, Natalino’s first physical store was designed by architect Aram Mooradian in collaboration with design studio Mitre & Mondays to reflect the properties of the brand’s garments.
    Natalino has opened its first physical store”Nathan’s clothes use a lot of natural textures and you can often see how they’re constructed, so we wanted to capture those qualities in the interior,” Mooradian told Dezeen.
    Mooradian, who had recently travelled to Italy with a group of his students from the Architectural Association, was influenced by the contrast of rough and smooth stone surfaces at Carlo Scarpa’s famous Olivetti showroom in Venice.
    The store’s interior was designed by Mooradian StudioAfter initially looking at using a sprayed plaster finish to achieve the desired effect, he came across a spray-on acoustic material from Dutch firm Acosorb that is made from recycled newspaper.

    The material is more commonly used for sound absorption in music studios and restaurants as it helps to reduce reverberation and improves acoustics.
    Spray-on paper pulp covers the walls and ceilingsMooradian used the paper pulp to cover the store’s walls and ceilings alongside utilities such as pipes and ducting. This lends the space a feeling of cohesion in addition to providing the desired tactility.
    “I think retail spaces are often about creating a sensory experience,” the architect said. “Spraying the entire store meant that we could create this atmosphere that wraps around and immerses you.”
    The textured finish is created by blowing the compressed flaked-paper material onto the surfaces together with a non-toxic binding agent.

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    When the interior eventually needs to be refurbished, the material can be easily removed by soaking it with water so it can once again be recycled.
    The use of recyclable materials also extends to the shop fittings, which were developed in collaboration with Mitre & Mondays and custom made in their Islington workshop from standard aluminium strips.
    “We used a range of techniques including bending, folding, clamping and notching to create various metal display structures that can be adapted to fit differently-sized garments,” said the studio’s co-founder Finn Thomson.
    Custom-made aluminium rails are used to display clothingThe components are attached using simple mechanical bolts, allowing them to be easily taken apart and reconfigured or recycled at the end of their lifespan.
    The display structures incorporate hanging rails and table surfaces, while angled aluminium shelves recessed into the wall are used to display shirts, knitwear and jeans.
    A fitting area in one corner of the space features a curtain made from UK-sourced waxed cotton that is suspended from a curved track.
    The aluminium was bent, folded and clamped into shapeThe graphic identity for Natalino was created by design agency Polytechnic, which also owns Bodney Road Studios in east London where Mooradian has his office.
    Aram Mooradian established his studio in 2018 after completing his studies at the Architectural Association. The studio focuses on reusing materials as part of a “gentle building philosophy” that also engages with contemporary craft practices.
    Other reversible shop interiors that have recently been featured on Dezeen include On-Off in Milan, which features a flexible gridded shelving system, and London’s Present & Correct store with its demountable wooden joinery.
    The photography is by Thomas Adank.

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    Apparatus updates Los Angeles showroom to include a “modernist grotto”

    New York-based studio Apparatus has redesigned its Hollywood showroom with multiple material schemas and a range of its lighting and furniture products to evoke a feeling of “discovery” for visitors.

    The 5,000-square-foot (464 square metres) Hollywood showroom first opened in 2018 in a former warehouse. Apparatus redesigned the interiors – which previously consisted of bold geometric and neoclassical elements – opting for an experience featuring a progression of materials that create distinct experiences for each room.
    Apparatus has redesigned the interiors of its LA showroomIts three adjoining rooms were transformed with distinct finishes and reconfigured displays.
    The first room’s walls and adjoining archways were covered in a coarse rock aggregate. Beds of similar stones fill small recessed gaps between the floor and the walls and a large circular mirror sits behind an installation of the Trapeze light configured as a mobile.
    The entry program features wall with a rough texture”Upon entering, you find yourself in our version of a modernist grotto,” said Apparatus.

    “Here lights are relatively low, allowing you to experience our collections with slightly subterranean undertones.”
    The “grotto”-like room features an installation of the Trapeze chandelierThe pre-existing archways were left intact and lead into the next space, which was finished in a silver-toned plaster custom produced by New York outift Kamp Studios. This surface treatment has a reflective quality meant to contrast the first space.
    It has an installation featuring multiple of Appratatus’ iconic Cloud chandeliers that give the space an airiness when contrasted with the earthy textures of the first.
    The second room has a smooth, silvery finish on the walls”Silvered walls reflect without revealing, giving the impression of being inside a Renaissance coffer,” said the studio. “After the grounding of the first space, this functions as a release.”
    A third room is lined with cork wall panels with intricate grain patterning and includes an unattributed bird-themed tapestry.
    Natural light comes in from overhead windows casting shadows on the double-height room, and includes several products arranged sparsely across the room.

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    “It’s about feeling discovery and moving through layers,” said Apparatus founder Gabriel Hendifar.
    Throughout, light fixtures are hung low to emphasize a dream-like characteristic of the reimagined space.
    As in Apparatus’s other showrooms in New York and London, the gallery’s interior design resembles the composition of famous paintings and historical architectural styles. Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico’s Surrealist works were referenced for this room.
    The third space features cork-lined walls and a double-height ceilingAccording to the company, the space was also redesigned based on a creative narrative of a hypothetical person: a woman living in New York City during the 1960s.
    The hypothetical person in this case experiences the cultural tensions of the time, between old world conventions and big changes in society, such as the moon landing, embodying the “tension between modernity and the arcane”.
    “What would happen if this woman moved to Los Angeles a decade later to find herself? Our Los Angeles gallery is the answer,” said the studio.
    The rooms were ordered to evoke a sense of discoveryApparatus has displayed its full suite of products in this immersive setting. Collections on view include the Cloud pendant lamp and the Episode Settee sofa.
    Other recent showroom designs include the London Camper store by James Shaw and Malbon Golf Coconut Grove store by 22RE.
    The photography is by Matthew Placek.

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    Selfridges launches The Joke Shop with playful Slapstick Generator artwork

    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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    Crosby Studios creates office-themed installation in LA for The Frankie Shop

    New York-based Crosby Studios has piled office equipment around a long metallic table as part of a pop-up installation for fashion brand The Frankie Shop in Los Angeles.

    The month-long installation titled The Office was launched to coincide with LA Art Week and the Sag-Aftra film festival and marked the New York label The Frankie Shop’s first presence in the Californian city.
    A long, metallic conference table formed part of The Office installation created by Crosby StudiosThe brand’s founder Gaëlle Drevet and Crosby Studios creative director Harry Nuriev met at his studio, talked for 2.5 hours and decided to work together.
    The resulting installation occupies a trapezoidal building on Sunset Boulevard wrapped in metallic film on all sides.
    Equipment like printers, office chairs and water coolers were arranged around the perimeter of the spaceInside, the warehouse-like space features a long table also covered in a reflective material, with matching cube-shaped stools set along either side.

    Articulated desk lamps, microphones and bottles of water were arranged on the table as if set up for delegates at a convention.
    The central table featured microphones and water bottles as if set up for a meetingAround the perimeter, Nuriev placed recycled office equipment, such as a large printer, a stack of binders and a pile of plastic-wrapped office chairs.
    A row of water coolers was lined up along one end of the room, encircled with glowing light boxes to create sharp silhouettes of the equipment in front.
    Light boxes that encircle the space create sharp silhouettes of the office furniture placed in front”It’s not really about the office, it’s more about what happens after the office,” Nuriev told Dezeen. “I was thinking it’s time to officially move on from the office and consider the future. However, in this project, we’re uncertain about what the future holds exactly.”
    A selection of apparel by The Frankie Shop is interspersed among the vignettes, while a “storage” area in the back serves as a fitting room.
    Some of the furniture is plastic-wrapped, appearing as though just installed or ready to be shipped awayTogether, the industrial style of the building, the silvery materials, the lighting and the equipment served to highlight the brand’s reinterpretation of businesswear.
    “The pop-up design blends a dynamic combination of fashion and nostalgia, where the power suits of the past seamlessly align with the modern attitude of The Frankie Shop,” said the team.

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    Metallics are commonplace in Nuriev’s interior projects, appearing prominently in a Berlin jewellery store, a Moscow restaurant and his own New York apartment amongst others.
    However, he is vague about the reasons or intentionality behind this recurring theme.
    The exterior of the building on Sunset Boulevard is also covered in reflective film”I don’t really think about ‘why’; it’s just my instincts, and I prefer to follow my feelings,” said Nuriev. “For this project, I had a vision of silver, and I think it works perfectly.”
    Originally from Russia, the designer founded Crosby Studios in 2014 and is now based between New York and Paris.
    The month-long installation marks The Frankie Shop’s first presence in LA and was timed to coincide with the city’s art weekHe recently completed the interiors for New York nightclub Silencio, based on the original location in Paris designed by film director David Lynch.
    Nuriev frequently collaborates with fashion brands, on projects ranging from a virtual sofa upholstered with green Nike jackets to a transparent vinyl couch filled with old Balenciaga clothing.
    The photography is by Josh Cho.
    The Office is on show in Los Angeles from 23 February to 24 March. For more events, talks and exhibitions in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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    Cúpla decorates Rixo Marylebone store with hand-painted murals

    Interior design studio Cúpla has completed a boutique for fashion brand Rixo in central London that features hand-painted illustrations and colourful zellige tiles.

    The clothing store on Marylebone High Street was revamped by Cúpla, whose creative director Gemma McCloskey is the twin sister of Rixo co-founder Orlagh McCloskey.
    The interior designer had previously designed the brand’s flagship store on the King’s Road and wanted the refurbished Marylebone location to have a similar feel.
    Rixo’s Marylebone store is covered in hand-painted murals”We wanted the store to embody everything we had previously created for Rixo’s flagship store but within its own right,” Gemma McCloskey told Dezeen.
    “A sense of escapism paired with a welcoming warmth within a boutique setting were the key emotions we wanted the customer to feel.”

    As the brand sells hand-painted prints, the designer wanted the store’s interior to feature illustrations to reflect the style of the clothes.
    It features modified vintage furniture”Understanding Rixo’s roots and the fact their USP is hand-painted prints, it felt tangible to represent the brand’s values and beginnings with the illustrations,” Gemma McCloskey said.
    “Given the space is quite small, we treated it almost like a living room space within a home and felt we could make it all-encompassing and personal.”
    Artist Sam Wood created colourful illustrations for the storeArtist Sam Wood hand-painted murals and illustrations throughout the store, which has a bright and playful colour palette and also features traditional glazed Moroccan zellige tiles.
    “We wanted the colour palette to feel really fresh and bright,” the designer explained.
    “Although there is an abundance of colours used, every line of the mural or the ‘random’ coloured zellige tile layout was methodically composed to ensure a right balance between the colours was struck.”

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    The studio added decorative arches and classical mouldings to the store in a nod to the architecture and heritage of its Marylebone neighbourhood.
    The store also features bespoke fitting room curtains with pickle-green and flora-pink stripes by fabric brand Colours of Arley.
    Moroccan zellige tiles add to the playful interiorCúpla used vintage furniture pieces throughout the store, which sells Rixo’s full collection including ready-to-wear and bridalwear.
    “We actually modified existing pieces of vintage furniture, which had been previously sourced by [Rixo founders] Orlagh and Henrietta years ago in the early days of Rixo,” Gemma McCloskey said.
    “They were the perfect fit for the space but didn’t have the functionality we required, so we decided to alter these instead or replace them.”
    The store is located on Marylebone High Street”It was much more sustainable and because the pieces were from the early years of Rixo, they had sentimental value so we didn’t want to replace them,” she added.
    Other recent London stores featured on Dezeen include a Camper store with a giant foot sculpture and a stationery store with a demountable interior.
    The photography is courtesy of Rixo.

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    Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy combines glass bricks and walnut for first store

    Bottega Veneta’s creative director Matthieu Blazy has designed the brand’s Avenue Montaigne flagship store in Paris, which is dominated by walnut wood fittings and glass bricks.

    The 800-metre-square shop features industrial, square glass blocks integrated into the floors, ceilings and walls, creating a geometric grid which diffuses light throughout the store.
    Glass bricks feature on the walls, floors and ceilings of the storeWalnut wood panels frame the textured glass blocks. The same wood was used in transitional spaces for a spiral staircase, curved corridor and for statement details like a display table and wooden columns.
    The interior design aims to balance volume and scale throughout the space – from blown-up elements, like the wooden details echoing the woven leather “intrecciato” reminiscent of Bottega Veneta’s handbags, to the thousands of glass bricks.
    Walnut panelling echoes the brand’s famous intrecciato woven leather techniqueThe store in central Paris is the first designed by Blazy, who has led Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta since 2020.

    According to the brand the store’s design aims to “celebrate Italian craftsmanship with a modernist sensibility”.

    “Woven” leather sofas and chairs are positioned in the spaceWithin the space, enclaves of soft seating and carpeted dressing rooms create smaller areas, contrasting the wide open stretches of glass brick in the main store.
    Sofas and chairs were styled in giant woven leather panels, also echoing the “intrecciato” technique Bottega Veneta is famous for in their handbag design.
    A spiral staircase leads to a second floorThe woven pattern is echoed in the carving of walnut tables and columns. Wool carpets and mirrored clothes rails complete the interior scheme for the open-plan space.
    The front door of the shop features a unique glass handle by the Venice-based Japanese glass artist, Ritsue Mishima.
    The store’s entry door features a bespoke glass handle by Ritsue MishimaOther retail design recently featured on Dezeen includes James Shaw’s installation of a jumbo foot in London Camper store and a “sensual” Ferragamo store by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen.
    The photography is by François Halard.

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    Lissoni Architecture creates expansion for Design Holding with “melting pot attitude”

    Local studio Lissoni Architecture has expanded the Design Holding flagship in New York City, creating an entirely new floor outfitted with light displays and curving metallic installations.

    Lissoni Architecture, the US branch of Italian studio Lissoni & Partners, created an entirely new second floor and redesigned a portion of the first floor for the Design Holding showroom, which displays furniture and lighting brands including B&B Italia, Flos, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto, Arclinea and Azucena.
    Lissoni Architecture has created an expansion for the Design Holding showroom in New YorkLighting and design elements from the brands were distributed across the second-floor space, spread out amongst vertical stone-clad panels, transparent, metal showcases, and curving chrome benches and walls.
    Each area of the floor was dedicated to a specific brand and the interior architecture was tailored to each brand’s identity, according to the studio.
    The project encompasses a new second floor and an expansion and redesign of the first”We wanted to share the melting pot attitude of New York City where everyone and everything can blend together holistically so we went to the essence of the iconic brands,” said Lissoni Architecture founder Piero Lissoni.

    “[We highlighted] their DNA and proposed a common ground that could host and enhance the design codes of each identity.”
    The studio created dedicated areas for brands including Flos and B&B ItaliaFor lighting brand Flos, the studio created a series of display cases backed by a transparent mesh. A magnetized, geometric Bilboquet light by designer Philippe Malouin is on display, as well as the Almendra chandelier affixed with almond-shaped flakes by Patricia Urquiola.
    A testing room for clients was also created for the brand, which consists of a curved, metal wall that meets a series of angled panels that act as an entrance for the room.
    The various displays were informed by the “melting pot” attitude of New York CityAnother corner of the floor was dedicated to the display of the Skynest chandelier by Marcel Wanders, which resembles an inverted basket interlaced with cords of light.
    Displays for Flos and Louis Poulsen consist of inserted panels and curving planting beds that are populated with a number of lighting fixtures from both brands.
    Metallic panels, warm wood, and dark cladding were used throughout the second-floor spaceDark, metal cladding used in the Flos displays contrasts the off-white and beiges used throughout the Louis Poulsen space, but both flank a B&B Italia lounge that sits at the centre of the floor, which features a bright-red chair from the Up series by Gaetano Pesce.
    A B&B Italia wardrobe was also created for the showroom, which sits next to an Arclinea kitchen display.

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    A black ash finish was used to clad a large cabinet unit, which sits behind a Thea island topped with a quartz waterfall countertop.
    Lighting by Louis Poulsen, including the Patera Oval pendant by designer Øivind Slaatt, was tucked into the furthest corner of the space, with pieces distributed amongst wooden tables and a low-lying display unit.
    A separate entrance leads to a Maxalto space on the first floorOn the first floor, a new space dedicated to Maxalto is accessible through a separate entrance, with pieces such as the brand’s Arbiter sofa system positioned against walls clad in black.
    Design Holding, a global retailer founded in 2018, recently added furniture brands Menu, By Lassen and Brdr Petersen to its portfolio after an agreement with Denmark-based company Designers Company.
    Piero Lissoni announced the founding of the US branch of his studio last year, saying that the US has become more “open-minded” in terms of architecture.
    The photography is courtesy Design Holding.

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    Vincent Van Duysen transforms Milanese palazzo into “sensual” Ferragamo store

    Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen has completed a boutique in Milan for Italian fashion house Ferragamo, featuring red marble panels and an alcove covered in ceramic petals that offset the original Renaissance-style interiors.

    The store is located within Palazzo Carcassola Grandi, which was originally built in the 15th century and now occupies a prime spot on Milan’s Montenapoleone fashion street.
    Vincent Van Duysen has designed Ferragamo’s Montenapoleone boutiqueThe palazzo was remodelled in the 19th century when it was home to Emilio Morosini – a member of the Italian unification and independence movement known as the Risorgimento.
    Van Duysen chose to retain much of the building’s historic character while introducing some surprising contemporary details.
    Footwear is displayed in a large salon”With this project, we tried to express a timeless Italianicity that is steeped in Ferragamo’s DNA,” said Van Duysen. “A sensual theatrical setting, where the scenic screen is luxuriously elevated and used as a backdrop and space dividing element at the same time.”

    “The skilful juxtaposition of modern, essential elements and materials with existing structures such as the columns and the cross vaults creates a pleasing contrast that enhances every feature.”
    An alcove is decorated in ceramics by Andrea MancusoAt the heart of the 280-square-metre interior is a large salon for displaying Ferragamo’s footwear. A minimal material palette comprising Venetian stucco walls, stone flooring and off-white painted ceilings allows the original details to stand out.
    Large mirrors set in simple bronze frames enhance the sense of space, while slabs of mottled Napoleon Red marble provide a punchy contrast that nods to the favourite colour of the company’s founder, Salvatore Ferragamo.
    The rest of the spaces are organised and designed to evoke the rooms of a grand villa, each with a unique character tailored to reflect the collections it holds.

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    “The design originates far in the past, in the person of Salvatore Ferragamo himself, who liked to receive his customers as if in his home living room,” explained Marco Gobbetti, Ferragamo’s CEO and managing director.
    “This was precisely how he thought of his shop, as a place to come together and converse. This starting point has brought us to this contemporary expression of the intimacy of home and Italian-ness.”
    As customers move through the sequence of rooms, they come across areas dedicated to footwear, bags, accessories and clothing, before finally descending a short stone staircase to reach a space displaying silk items.
    Marble detailing features throughout the storeFerragamo worked with contemporary designers and gallerists to curate a collection of unusual objects and furniture intended to embody the store’s “contemporary Renaissance spirit”.
    An alcove visible through one of the windows is covered in sea-blue ceramics crafted by Andrea Mancuso of Milanese studio Analogia Project, using the same technique he developed for the Aquario collection for Nilufar Gallery in 2022.
    Mancuso also used the circular ceramic petals, intended to evoke fantastical aquatic flora, to form a display table placed at the boutique’s entrance.
    Side tables by Andrea Anastasio stand in the vestibule next to the changing roomsSide tables found in spaces including a lounge-like vestibule next to the changing rooms are from Andrea Anastasio’s Corallium collection for Giustini/Stagetti Gallery and consist of coloured stone pieces stitched together using leather string.
    JoAnn Tan’s Stockholm-based studio created the display tables seen in the windows, which are covered with leather fringe reclaimed from Ferragamo’s production sites.
    Van Duysen is known for his multidisciplinary work for the hospitality, fashion and furniture sectors, and has been the creative director of Italian design brand Molteni&C since 2016.
    JoAnn Tan’s fringed display tables can be seen from the outsideAs part of his role, the architect has revamped the firm’s corporate showroom in Giussano, Italy, and designed a “palazzo-like” showroom in New York.
    Salvatore Ferragamo established his first business focusing on ladies’ footwear in 1927. In addition to footwear, the firm now produces luxury goods such as bags, accessories and ready-to-wear clothing, all of which are displayed at the Via Montenapoleone showroom.
    In 2022, British graphic designer Peter Saville updated Ferragamo’s brand identity, replacing its handwritten logo with a custom serif typeface that references stone inscriptions.

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