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    Red staircase anchors Diesel store in Miami Design District

    Fashion brand Diesel has debuted a retail design concept at its store in the Miami Design District, featuring raw metal surfaces and a red lacquered spiral staircase.

    Designed under the creative direction of Glenn Martens, who joined the brand in 2020, the industrial-style store is intended to reflect “the brand’s signature bold attitude”.
    Diesel’s new store in Miami Design District debuts an industrial-style retail concept”Envisioned as a fresh, powerful expression of Diesel’s design edge and identity, the store is anchored by a glass facade framed in signature Diesel red with the brand’s red-and-white Biscotto logo,” said the design team.
    Red was also applied selectively to interior elements, including a statement spiral staircase and a wall behind at the back of the store.
    The store’s focal point is a red lacquered-metal spiral staircaseThe helical lacquered-metal form has solid balustrades and steps with a diamond-plate texture for added grip.

    It leads up to a second level where another red wall with floating shelves is used for product displays.
    The staircase has solid balustrades and steps with diamond-plate texture for added gripAcross the two floors, the 1,900-square-foot (177-square-metre) store presents the full Diesel collection.
    Bags, shoes, accessories and fragrances are presented on the lower level, while areas dedicated to denim, ready-to-wear apparel and footwear can be found upstairs.
    The upper level also has a red display wall that stands out against the concrete and metallic surfacesExposed concrete floors and ceilings, and walls covered in riveted raw metal panels and mirrors create a monochromatic backdrop that allows the red elements to stand out.
    “Throughout the space, minimalist red leather couches and streamlined silver fixtures create a strong sense of structure with a touch of softness,” said the team.

    Space-age design informs Nodaleto shoe store by Rafael de Cárdenas

    Vitrines for displaying accessories on the ground floor sit atop crinkled metal bases, though the sales counter opposite is flat and sleek.
    Both levels have floor-to-ceiling glass across the street facade, and at night, fluorescent lighting throughout the store gives off a harsh white glow.
    The ground floor features vitrines atop crinkled metal basesFollowing the Miami store unveiling, the interior concept will be rolled out to global Diesel locations.
    The brand was founded in 1978 by Italian entrepreneur Renzo Rosso, who still serves as its president.
    The Diesel store joins many luxury fashion brands in Miami Design DistrictMiami Design District is home to the stores of many luxury fashion labels, each of which has exterior and interior treatments designed to reflect its distinct brand identity.
    Other examples include Louis Vuitton’s menswear space, which Dutch studio Marcel Wanders wrapped in a patterned facade informed by the brand’s monogram, and a Christian Louboutin boutique that’s covered in tree bark.
    The photography is courtesy of Diesel.

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    Neri&Hu creates “wooden hut” and “cave-dwelling” interiors for Shanghai stores

    Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed two retail spaces for Shanghai fashion company Jisifang, using wood and concrete to evoke “a more primitive state of being”.

    The two adjacent stores are located at Panlong Tiandi development in Shanghai. One was designed for Jisifang Boutique and the other for its sister brand Woven Moonlight, also owned by Jisifang.
    Neri&Hu has designed two adjacent stores in ShanghaiAccording to the Shanghai-based studio, each store was tailored to its distinct brand identities and varying spatial requirements.
    A wooden house was inserted into the 110-square-metre Jisifang Boutique, the sloping roof of which takes advantage of the full height space to create a “spacious sanctuary”, the studio said.
    A wooden house structure was inserted into Jisifang Boutique”The design concept is inspired by French architecture theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier’s Primitive Hut, said to be the fundamental prototype of all architecture,” explained Neri&Hu.

    “Stripped of decoration and style, the primitive hut establishes a relationship between humans and the natural world, providing both shelter and a connection to nature,” it added.
    White oak furniture creates a warm interiorA long table and benches made of white oak are placed at the centre of the space, with fashion garments displayed at the lower end of both sides of the roof.
    Handmade ceramic floor tiles with muted colours were used throughout the space, referencing the warm and natural textures of the linen products that the brand is known for.
    Glass bricks with rustic metal lining are featured on the facadeThe facade features glass bricks lined with rustic metal elements, inviting natural light and framing views of the bustling retail street outside into the shop.
    In contrast, Neri&Hu created a cave-like shelter made of concrete for the 200-square-metre Woven Moonlight.

    Neri&Hu divides Shanghai fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens

    Concrete walls enclose the main display area, which features carved-out display niches. These have been lined with translucent linen curtains and fitted with custom-built walnut cabinetry, contrasting the roughness of the concrete.
    A double-pitch sloped ceiling was clad with the same concrete as the walls. Skylights on the ceiling, as well as full-height glass windows on one side, fill the space with plenty of natural light.
    Linen and walnut wood contrast the concrete in Woven Moonlight”In the case of both the wooden hut and the cave-dwelling, we are exploring the original space of our humanity, harkening a return to a more primitive state of being,” said Neri&Hu.
    “We hope that when people touch the linen fabric of Jisifang, their mood and spirit may transcend the urban environment, back to nature,” it continued.
    The Wooven Moonlight store features a double-pitch sloped ceiling clad with concreteNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu in 2004 in Shanghai.
    The studio also recently completed a simplicity contemporary art gallery, and a fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens, both in Shanghai.
    The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.
    Project credits:
    Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Siyu ChenDesign team: Greg Wu, Jinghan Li, Nicolas Fardet, Saint Xu, Shuan Wu, Yinan Zhu, Yoki YuFF&E design and procurement: Design RepublicLighting Consultant: DLX Lighting DesignContractor: Nantong Huaqiang Construction

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    EBBA references modernist architecture at WatchHouse coffee shop

    Architecture studio EBBA has completed a store for coffee brand WatchHouse that draws on modernist design to provide a calming environment in the heart of the City of London.

    Situated in the 30 Fenchurch Street building of the Square Mile financial district, the store was designed by EBBA for coffee company WatchHouse, which has several cafes around London and also sells its own roasts.
    The store interior references modernist architectureHaving previously completed several other stores for the brand, EBBA was tasked with transforming an empty unit in the landmark office development into an inviting space aimed at attracting visitors from the adjacent lobby.
    “This store offered the opportunity to think carefully about how to make a high quality and calming retail environment that also caters to the flexible operation of the visitors and the building in which it sits,” EBBA founder Benni Allan told Dezeen.
    The space aims to offer a calming environmentThe project brief called for a space focused on retail that also integrates a bar for serving customers. The interior has a more open and relaxed feel than the brand’s other locations, which operate more like typical coffee shops.

    With ample comfortable seating available in the adjacent atrium, EBBA chose to incorporate different settings where customers can rest while waiting for their coffee.
    Furniture including lounge chairs arranged around a coffee table and bar stools at the counter allow the space to be used in a variety of ways.
    Wooden seating is provided in an adjacent atriumElements of the shop’s design are informed by European modernist architecture. In particular, Allan drew on the large lobbies of banks and civic buildings such as libraries, which he said seem to “carry a particular feeling of calmness”.
    Referencing the work of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, EBBA used grid patterns and clean lines to bring order to the interior, while sculptural objects help to partition the space.
    “The overall concept was to create the sense of a box within a box,” Allan added. “The reference to Miesian buildings can be understood in wanting to establish a clear logic to the space through its grid and making objects that help to demarcate space.”

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    EBBA designed and built all of the furniture for the store, including the eight-metre-long stainless steel counter that forms the centrepiece of the space. This monolithic element is used for coffeemaking as well as providing a communal workspace.
    The large coffee table made from blocks of solid oak is intended to resemble stacked timber. Its construction echoes the grid of slatted timber panels cladding the ceiling.
    EBBA chose a material palette that reflects WatchHouse’s goal to create places people want to spend time in. Warm and natural tones and textures offer a respite from the busy urban setting.
    An eight-metre stainless steel counter centres the space”We opted for warm oak panelling, which gracefully cocoons the space, and a unique Ceppo stone floor, which enhances the store’s gridded pattern whilst complementing the feeling of civic grandeur,” said the architects.
    The rear wall is lined with full-height cabinets that conceal the necessary utility spaces, adding to the store’s sense of cohesion and simplicity.
    Minimalist shelving used to display WatchHouse’s simply packaged produce blend in with the relaxed setting.
    All of the furniture was designed and built by EBBAEBBA has worked with WatchHouse on several of its venues, including another site within the 30 Fenchurch Street building that also looks to balance contemporary aesthetics with nods to the City of London’s heritage.
    The studio, founded in 2017 by Spanish architect Benni Allan, has completed a number of projects in London including a temporary education centre built using only reusable components and a residential extension that combines brutalist-style materials with details inspired by a Roman villa.
    The photography is courtesy of EBBA. 

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    Partisans sculpts limestone facade for Rolex boutique in Toronto

    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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    Tutto Bene references Streamline Moderne in tiny New York eyewear store

    Curved metallic surfaces influenced by early 20th century American industrial design form displays at this compact store in New York City, designed by London studio Tutto Bene for eyewear brand Cubitts.

    Tutto Bene was briefed to create an elegant and meticulously crafted space for Cubitts’ first store outside of the UK that evokes the past century of New York’s history.
    Cubitts has opened a store in New York CityThe store at 103 Mercer Street has a total floor area of just 25 square metres, which the designers claimed makes it possibly the smallest retail site in all of SoHo.
    Felizia Berchtold and Oskar Kohnen of Tutto Bene told Dezeen that they set out to create an experiential and intriguing interior with “the ornate precision of a jewellery box”.
    The interior was designed by London studio Tutto Bene”Within the retail landscape of SoHo there is a pop-up feeling and one sees a lot of set-design quality fit-outs,” the designers said.

    “We wanted to counterbalance this trend by creating a space made to last for a decade and to communicate the value that is put into the product inside it.”
    Charlotte Perriand’s LC8 stool is among the vintage furnishingsThe functional and precisely detailed design of Cubitts’ spectacles provided the main inspiration for the store, which also references the streamlined forms of Streamline Moderne – an aerodynamic offshoot of art deco that emerged in the 1930s.
    “We took that engineering aspect of spectacle-making and interpreted it in kinetic elements throughout the store, like the rotary mirrors and the sculptural steel curve, reflecting hues of light like the sparkling towers we know New York for,” the duo said.
    The dominant colour is a brick-red hue borrowed from New York’s streetscapeAn S-shaped metal display at the centre of the space helps to define the flow of movement whilst echoing the smooth silhouettes of the brand’s eyewear.
    Walls clad in black ebonised ash create a dark backdrop, against which soft lighting and pops of colour create a theatrical effect reminiscent of the paintings of American artist Edward Hopper.

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    “Areas of glamorous darkness are peppered with light,” said Tutto Bene. “Shimmering reflections, reminiscent of city lights, emphasise the store’s meticulous detailing and represent the care and attention put into the products it encloses.”
    The main colour used is a brick-red hue borrowed from the New York streetscape, which according to the studio adds “some playfulness and art deco glamour, contrasting the muted black with dramatic warmth and texture”.
    Tutto Bene also created custom hand-shaped mirrors for the storeThe geometric forms used throughout the store recall the works of artist Donald Judd, who once lived and worked across the street. The artistic tributes continue in the restroom, which is papered with aluminium foil as an homage to Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory.
    Carefully chosen vintage pieces including wall lights from Austrian brand Kalmar, Charlotte Perriand’s LC8 stool and an Opalino vase by Tommaso Buzzi complement the store’s colour and material palette.
    The bathroom was papered with aluminium foil Tutto Bene also created bespoke mirrors, which customers can use when trying out different frames. The marble objects were hand-crafted at a stone workshop in Florence, Italy.
    “In the pared-back store, these hand-carved glove-like marble sculptures draw attention through their surrealist appearance,” the designers added.
    “When you pick them up, they lie heavy in the hand. The weight sharpens one’s consciousness and gives the gesture of looking in the mirror a considered quality.”
    The wallpaper is an homage to Andy Warhol’s Silver FactoryTo celebrate the store’s launch, Cubitts released a collection of seven frames inspired by New York landmarks including the Flatiron Building and Radio City Music Hall.
    The opening follows a series of new Cubitts stores in the UK including one in a former jellied-eel restaurant and another in a 19th-century London townhouse.

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    Pixelated furniture appears throughout Lunet eyewear store in Bucharest

    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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    Christian de Portzamparc wraps Dior flagship store with “resin shells” in Geneva

    Six interweaving “petals” encase the facade of Dior’s store in Geneva, Switzerland, which has been designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Christian de Portzamparc.

    The Dior store’s expressive facade elements echo those of its Seoul flagship store – also designed by French architect De Portzamparc – that similarly draws on fabrics used for Dior’s creations.
    Six interweaving “petals” wrap around the store’s facade”Between these veils, the glass walls let the sun’s rays penetrate in a captivating interplay of light and shade, a poetic dialogue between the inside and outside,” Dior said.
    “At night, the lighting appears to filter – through the elegant resin shells – transforming the building into a majestic urban lantern.”
    Display cases line the facade at street level. Photo by Serge de PortzamparcThe facade elements rise up from the building’s base widening at their centres before tapering towards the building’s roof.

    Behind them, floor to ceiling openings wrap around the building – revealing the building’s six floors and providing views into the interiors. Additionally, a series of display cases decorate the facade at street level.

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    Inside, the spaces were finished with neutral-toned surfaces and wood panelling, which is set off by the colours and patterns of Dior’s spring-summer 2024 collection.
    Built in display cases fitted with sleek shelves and glass cabinets line the interior spaces and are illuminated by gallery-style lighting fixtures.
    Plush seating decorates the boutique’s interior and is coupled with consoles made by Berlin-based Stefan Leo Atelier and tables by Anglo-Brazilian designer Hamrei.
    Neutral-toned surfaces and wood panelling feature on the interior”The rooms combine airy dimensions with the intimacy of hushed cocoons and reveal artisanal finishes,” said the brand.
    “Adorned in touches of ivory and gold, with hints of white and blue enhanced by the naturalness of the wood.”
    Floor to ceiling openings wrap around the buildingDe Portzamparc was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1994 and became the first French architect to receive the prestigious architecture award.
    Other recently completed flagship stores include a marble “immersive experience” for APL’s flagship store in New York City and Huawei’s store in Shanghai with a “petal-like” facade.
    Other fashion brand stores that have recently opened include a “sensual” boutique in Milan designed by Vincent Van Duysen for fashion house Ferragamo and a boutique decorated with hand-painted murals by Cúpla for fashion brand Rixo in central London.
    The photography is by Jonathan Taylor unless otherwise stated.

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    Gary Card redesigns London’s LN-CC store with orange tunnel and LED-lit club

    Designer Gary Card has given London’s LN-CC boutique a redesign that includes a sci-fi-looking wooden tunnel and a room “shaped like the inside of a foot”.

    Card, who designed the original interior of the east London store in 2011, said the challenge for him was using the knowledge he has accumulated since then to create something new.
    The LN-CC store in east London has a red facade”The question for myself this time was – can I use everything I’ve learned over the last decade to reimagine one of my most recognized projects,” he told Dezeen.
    “Each room has a very different concept,” he added. “It’s become part of the tradition now to change the temperature and colour palette with each room and encourage a journey of identity and discovery.”
    An octagonal wooden tunnel welcomes visitorsThe store is the only physical shop for LN-CC, which is mainly an online business, and is spread across the ground and lower-ground floor of a former tie factory.

    Visitors enter via an orange wooden tunnel with an octagonal shape reminiscent of the architecture in director Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
    Each room in the store has different colours and materialsIt is the third tunnel that Card has designed for the store, following its original orange tunnel and a later white version.
    “The tunnel is LN-CC’s icon,” Card explained. “It’s been with us for over a decade now, so it had to be a significant feature.”
    “We decided early on to bring it to street level and make the entrance something that had never been seen before as part of the store space,” he added.
    “It’s a brand-new design and construction. We’ve brought back the orange from the first tunnel; the white is a nod to the second version from 2014.”
    A cobalt-blue room sits on the lower-ground floorEach of the six rooms in the store has a different feel and different colours, which Card chose together with LN-CC’s buying and creative director Reece Crisp.
    “The colours we settled on really amplify what we’re showcasing, the brand’s unique edit,” the designer said.
    The store is LN-CC’s only physical spaceAmong them is the Callisto room, which has a cave-like feel and a design that was influenced by the building’s existing structures.
    “In the Callisto room, there was a circular part of a helter-skelter that used to be in the building – this used to be a tie factory and it was in the corner,” Crisp told Dezeen. “When we stripped the space back, we saw this sort of circle and that fed into how we wanted that space to be.”
    In the Atrium, Card used tile adhesive to create the structures and patterns on the room’s wide lime-green pillars, which provide shelving for the store’s accessories.
    The Atrium room has green pillars decorated with tile adhesiveFor LN-CC’s shoe room, known as the Midtarsal, Card drew on the anatomy of the human body to create an undulating, flesh-coloured interior.
    “The shoe space, the Midtarsal room, that’s engineering to an incredible degree,” Crisp said. “We love the shape – like the inside of the foot – and how that warps the room.”

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    Throughout LN-CC, Card used a variety of different materials to bring the rooms to life.
    “The space is a juxtaposition of lots of different materials,” he said. “So MDF, perspex, wood and concrete – I sought to take small cues from the original while innovating with a refreshed lens exploring the interplay between texture, colour and materials within the newly imagined rooms.”
    The Midtarsal room has undulating shapes in a beige colourThe last room of the store is a club space, which features LED walls that can be used to turn the room into different colours or display messages.
    “The club has always been a huge part of LN-CC’s identity, ” Card said. “It was never about selling clothes – the brand was an online business after all – it was about delivering experiences. So we wanted to do something really special with the new club.”
    The LN-CC club space is lit by an LED wall”It was a bit dark and gritty before, which was cool, but we knew we needed to raise the stakes for the latest store design without it losing its edge,” Card added.
    “My right-hand man, Richard Wilkins, was the tech wizard for the space who created the lighting and amazing LED wall. The lighting totally transforms the space.”
    Other recent London store interiors include a boutique sprayed with recycled newspaper pulp and a colourful Marylebone store with handpainted murals.

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