Archdaily. Architects: Tadao Ando Architect & Associates Location: Via Santo Spirito 22, Centro Storico, Milano, Italy Client: Duvetica Industrie S.p.A. Coordinator: Equilibri s.r.l. (Eugenio Tranquilli, Verdiana Durand de la Penne) Project Execution Team: Luigi Cocco (Structure), Guido Stella (Architectural drawings), Sergio Rigato (Electrical). Consultant: Erco Illuminazione s.r.l. (Lighting System) Completion: 2011 Floor Area: 350 sqm Photographs: Thomas Mayer Duvetica Milano Shop / Showroom This is a project to create a flag shop for the down-jacket brand Duvetica and a showroom for franchise brands within the ground and basement levels of an old building situated within the Montenapole one fashion district of the historic city of Milan. The Duvetica brand represents a fusion of contemporary aesthetic sensitivity and the traditional cultural climate of Europe in which manufacturers have always adhered to achieving a definitive level of quality.
. * Location to be used only as a reference. Nicola Formichetti Pop Up Store | The Puma House | Decoster Concept. Yakiniku Master Restaurant by Golucci International Design. Sales Office by One Plus Partnership. CREO by Sameep Padora and Associates. Mike Stilkey's Awesome Book Art Arrives in Hong Kong. Kurt Geiger Stores - London. UK-based shoe and accessory retailer Kurt Geiger has been rolling out its new retail store concept in the UK and around the world with the help of its long-time collaborators at Found Associates of London. Kurt Geiger’s flagship store and headquarters at 198 Regent Street in London’s West End is a glamorous shoe emporium within a five-storey historically protected building.
Red carpet covers the ramp leading to the men’s department, and it also links visually to the red glass walls at the rear of the store. The walls are lined with dark grey glass shelves forming a beautifully formal “library of shoes.” Mirrors and glass, and the colors red, white and black create the entire visual structure of the store, allowing the shoes to remain the main focus. The Kurt Geiger Regent Street store occupies 2,800 square feet (260 square meters) of space. The mirrors, distorting the space and creating infinite reflections, are all the props that are needed to create a luxurious, fantastical environment. ‘Bloom Skin’: Issey Miyake’s Dancing Window Display.
Podium 1 - Paris. The Moscow-based Podium Fashion Groupl is involved in numerous fashion ventures, but what caught our eye is the Podium 1 jewelry store in Paris (at 334, rue St. -Honore, Paris 1er, right across from Colette). The tiny shop (50 square metres) oozes glamour and old money, patina and luxury. The rich feel is created through textured wallpaper, dark antique or aged wood furnishings, curved vitrines, thick-glass cabinets with hand-tooled iron pulls, plus a massive armoire standing on curled legs and sporting Gothic arches. The slightly mad and eccentric, yet visually cohesive neogothic interior and furnishings are by Moscow-based Artbureau I/1 (“one over one”) whose eight principals create both private and commercial interiors and architecture.
Unknown Union | A Cape Town Men's Boutique by Rafael de Cardenas. In a refreshing departure from the now so routine dark-mahogany “men’s club” feel of men’s stores, New York-based architect and interior designer Rafael de Cárdenas of Architecture At Large approached Cape Town’s Unknown Union with a much lighter touch. The two-level boutique, located in a historic building, exudes light and color.
On the first level, white walls serve as the background to the pared-down stacked-box shelving painted in softly muted yet vibrant colors. This simplified setting, gives the owners, Sean Shuter and Daniel Jackson, an ideal showcase for the brands that they represent, including ANYthing, Pendleton, Surface to Air, and Penfield USA. The second level is an ever-changing, creative space, where local and international creators and artist showcase their work. OUKAN 71 - Berlin.
OUKAN 71 is an intriguing addition to the sophisticated shopping area around Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. OUKAN 71 combines a fashion and art showroom/shop with a tea room and restaurant. Located on Kronenstrasse 71 (Kronen Strasse means Crown Street in German, and Oukan is Japanese for crown), the boutique has a fascinating background. When the earthquake and tsunami cancelled the Tokyo Fashion Week in March last year, a group of Japanese designers were looking for a place to showcase their work.
Berlin answered, and a charity project, Tokyo Gakudan (Tokyo Orchestra), was presented at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in July 2011, with 40 Japanese designers showing their collections. Natalie Viaux and Huy Thong Tran Mai were responsible of the Tokyo Gakudan Runway Show at Mercedes-Benz Studio. On two open-concept floors, OUKAN 71 offers a constantly changing selection of fashion, accessories and design, much of it currently Scandinavian, but all with a Japanese feel.
TA-ZE Premium Olive Oil Store - Toronto, Canada. Toronto’s latest TA-ZE store, at 120 Adelaide Street West, is only 800 square feet in size, but it is airy and uncluttered. TA-ZE is a chain of retail stores focusing on premium olive oils and related product. Ta-ze means fresh in Turkish, and the company is rooted in the long traditions of olive-oil production. Its product comes from six provinces in the Aegean region of Turkey, from 33 co-operatives that include more than 28,000 olive producers.
The purity and clarity of the oil is reflected in the minimalist store concept designed by Toronto-based Burdifilek, led by managing partner Paul Filek, and creative partner Diego Burdi. Staple at S.L.A.T.E. - The Pigeon Museum. Kensiegirl Showroom by Sergio Mannino Studio. Brooklyn design team Sergio Mannino Studio have completed the interior of a showroom for footwear brand Kensiegirl in New York. The shoe shop incorporates fluorescent colours, customised wallpapers and laser-cut furniture.
The following information is from Sergio Mannino Studio: The design of the new Kensiegirl Showroom in New York City attempts to personify the chic, evocative and whimsical style of the Kensiegirl brand. While utilizing the latest digital technologies, Mannino Studio defines the spirit of our times through mass customization of wallpapers, decals and laser-cut furniture. Through everyday fluorescent fixtures turned pink, digitally fabricated lamp shades and a display system reminiscent of 70s minimal art, the Studio was able to transform the showroom into a modern mental gymnasium of design, pattern and color, while at the same time complimenting the Kensiegirl brand.
Sergio Mannino Studio is located in Brooklyn's progressive art community of DUMBO.