Retail Spaces

  • 23/01

    Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop by Aulík Fišer Architekti

    For the design of the Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop, Czeck designers Aulík Fišer Architekti decided to keep the inspiration and execution as pure and natural as the wine served. The designer and owner worked together, using photographs of bars and wine shops in France as inspiration, but drawing from their honesty rather than their style.

    The architect said about the design: “We put most of our effort to make our work invisible at first sight. Our interior should be a background allowing enjoy good wine and meal here and now.”

    The first step in the renovation was removing any superfluous building elements so that only the original 19th century structure remained. Bottle-shaped shutters were added that pivot open to reveal the stripped back interior that has been modestly furnished with design classics and simple, elegant fittings. Wine bottles are stacked high in a steel rod framework that creates simple geometric patterns on the walls. Dimly lit, bare light bulbs create an intimate atmosphere where the original intention of the space is allowed to quietly reveal itself.

    Photography by AI Photography.

  • 04/12

    Esprit, Cologne

    Designers Reich und Wamser have completed the interior of fashion brand Esprit’s Cologne outlet. The Lighthouse shop juxtaposes masculine and feminine elements. Exposed brickwork, timber and steel frames throughout are used throughout in contrast to softer elements like woven light fittings. Similarly gauzy curtains that conceal the fitting room at the back of the shop complement the harder materials used in the design and add a soft, feminine touch to the otherwise rigid interior. Furnishings and fittings are also more delicate: walnut tables and cabinets are used, along  with clothes racks with slender profiles to display clothes and accessories.  Another distinguishing feature of the space is the glazed courtyard  that is naturally lit by a skylight above and filled with plants and flowers.

    (Photos by Peter Janczik and Reich und Wamser.)

  • 23/11

    Bungalow Eight, Mumbai

    Bungalow Eight in Mumbai (not to be confused with London’s Bungalow 8 nightclub) is a beautifully curated luxury store, selling products ranging from high quality clothes to home ware. The store is spread across a three story building, designed by architect Bijoy Jain, and takes its name from the address where Maithili Ahluwalia, the owner, grew up. The spacious building has unusually high ceilings and was left mostly bare, with raw concrete and exposed trusses. The few fixtures that do adorn the space is minimal and high end, like the tube lights by Michael Anstassiades. The selection of objects on sale all originate from either India or France and are arranged in such a way that you may be mistaken for being in someone’s home.


  • 02/11

    Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, New York

    Somewhere on the corner of a brownstone lined street in New York there is Farmacy: a ‘soda fountain’ with a touch of old school charm mixed with Brooklyn attitude.

    The former pharmacy has been lovingly restored and boasts original cabinetry, ceilings and mosaic floor tiles from the 1920′s. Shelves and drawers that used to be stocked with medicines are now lined with vintage bottles filled with treats. The interior has been furnished to echo the bygone era of the shop: featuring bentwood chairs, cast iron tables and upholstered diner bar stools.

    Vintage pieces like the unusual scales and signage add just the right amount of playfulness to the charming space.


    (Images via The Scout)

  • 26/10

    Smith&Hsu, Taipei

    Swiss-Danish designer Carsten Jörgensen designed the interior off a two-storey teahouse for Taiwanese tea brand Smith&Hsu.  The minimal, modular interior that aims to be simple and legible predominantly uses concrete and timber. The ground floor serves as a tearoom and retail space and the first floor as a dining room.

    The first floor features long sections of grid shaped shelves, simple tables and Y Chairs by Hans Wegner, complemented with glossy black and red feature lights.

    The first floor repeats of the simple aesthetic established downstairs.  While the minimal design approach  prevails, the dining area takes on a more playful interpretation of it. Here the cubes are diagonally staggered with gaps in between, and filled with second hand books. Eames Plastic Side Chairs fit perfectly into the casual chic dining space.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 20/10

    Heliocosm, Paris

    Heliocosm, a new natural cosmetics brand, opened shop in Paris and commissioned FREAKS freearchitects to design the interior.

    The space is unusually long (nearly 20m) and narrow, which the designers addressed by separating it into a front and back room that are linked by a wooden tunnel with an integrated display.

    The entire interior is painted a “cool mint” blue-green, including the floors and ceilings, enfolding customers in a refreshing space. The front room serves as a workshop and reception, and the backroom as a lounge. The back wall of the lounge is covered in a large scale print of a greenish blue mountain and lake, creating an impressive ending perspective for the connecting tunnel.

    All freestanding furnishings were salvaged from second hand shops, adding comfortable, homey elements to the very edgy space.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 14/10

    Topman General Store

    Topman General Store is the high street fashion powerhouse’s first standalone concept store, located in Shoreditch. Unlike the Topshop we’re used to, the interior is pared back and minimal, giving carefully curated collections from their ‘Design’ and ‘LTD’ ranges the opportunity to stand out. The store is curated by the brand’s design director Gordon Richardson and the creative director of b-store, Matthew Murphy.

    The interior has an early 1900s sideshow Americana look and features seasonal collaborations, temporary installations in display cabinets, limited edition art prints and books. Exposed brick walls and grey painted walls  provide the perfect backdrop for the garments and artifacts on display. This rough, worn in, east end cool interior might just trick you into thinking that you have walked into an independent retailer.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 30/09

    John Lewis Fashion Pavilion by Grimshaw

    London department store John Lewis has commissioned Grimshaw Architects to design a pop-up installation for their Oxford Street store. The installation is made of cardboard tubes of various lengths and diameters suspended in sheets of perspex held together with transparent rods, creating the illusion of a floating cardboard screen.

    After two months in London it will travel to other John Lewis stores in the UK. The modular nature of the installation means that it can easily be dismantled and reconfigured to suit the needs of specific stores and spaces. The ‘tube walls’ separate spaces in an unusual way by partially obscuring views and revealing glimpses of adjacent spaces.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 29/09

    Outsider Tart, London

    When Americans David Lesniak and David Muniz moved to London, they felt that the indulgent cakes and tarts that they were used to were hard to come by, and promptly decided to rectify the situation themselves. The Outsider Tart serves up about any sugary treat you can think of, from brownies to biscuits, and already has a cult following.

    The dark interior is as quirky as the cakes they bake, with the large arrow shaped light fixtures above the counter taking center stage. The ceiling also features prominently and looks like it has been lined with cake tins of various sizes. Rough wooden shelves line the walls and add a rustic touch to this contemporary space.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 22/09

    Tracey Neuls by Faudet-Harrison

    Pioneering footwear designer Tracey Neuls scheduled the opening of her east London store to coincide with the London Design Festival, and to mark the occasion equally daring British designers Faudet-Harrison were appointed to create a fresh interior that would be appropriate for the edgy new Redchurch Street location.

    The interior of dark wooden floors and white walls is minimally fit out with a mix of new and recycled customised furnishings; a vintage footstool topped with a chest of shoebox drawers being one of the most interesting pieces. The result is an undertated but bold interior that forms a welcome addition to a street of galleries and cafes.

    Faudet-Harrison said: “the Furniture and products produced are centred around rituals of shoes and getting ready, all have an element of altered and restored found object married with new materials giving each piece a revised function.”

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 08/08

    Happy Kitchen

    Happy Kitchen is a new café-cum-organic food shop right next to London Fields station. What makes it really special does not immediately meet the eye (unless you read a bit more about them on the blackboards that line the walls), the owners try to source all ingredients locally as far as possible, reducing environmental impact and supporting smaller, local suppliers.

    Situated in a converted railway arch, it serves delicious coffee and home baked cakes, using only ingredients that are in season. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers to buy dried grains, nuts and fruits.

    The playful interior reflects their eco-consciousness, chairs are upholstered with re-used hessian coffee sacks and organic vegetables are on display in wooden apple crates.

  • 29/07

    Aesop Grand Central Kiosk

    Australian skincare brand Aesop is not only know for its excellent skincare lines, it has also built up a reputation for innovative interiors that make use of unusual materials. The newest addition to the Aesop family is a kiosk in New York’s Grand Central Station.

    For their first American store, Aesop’s director Dennis Paphitis collaborated with Brooklyn based architect Jeremy Barbour of Tacklebox to create an unique interior. The kiosk interior was built of more than a thousand recycled copies of the New York Times. The copies were stacked, torn and bound to create volumes with that are both interesting and strangely familiar to commuters passing by in the Graybar Passage. The newspaper shelves are topped with powder coated aluminium and rows of neatly organised Aesop products.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 20/07

    52 by Suppose Design Office

    52, a clothing store in Shizuoka-shi, Japan, was designed in response to the question: how do garments relate to space? Suppose Design Office decided on separating the space into a section that employs only natural light and one that uses solely artificial light. In doing so they attempted to correlate the arrangement and treatment of spaces to how clothes are worn and to how the clothes will be seen in day to day life, much like how artist produce art in and for certain lighting conditions.

    The interior is gallery-like in its elegant simplicity and despite there being hardly any windows it has a spacious feel. A zig-zagging wall made of 9mm metal sheeting separates the different spaces in a delicate way that still allows a strong visual and physical connection. In the daylight section, coats, trousers and shirts are illuminated by a recessed skylight. The intention for this part of the space to be ‘exterior’ is reiterated by the small trees that line the dividing metal wall.

    The ‘interior’ space is softly lit by bare light bulbs suspended above the space. Here undergarments, jerseys and accessories are displayed in the conditions under which they would normally be seen.

    In the corner is a secluded mezzanine that overlooks the shop floor

    (Images by Toshiyuki Yano)

  • 04/04

    Playtype foundry and concept store by e-Types

    In Copenhagen type has jumped from computer screens and the internet and taken up residence in a type foundry where digital fonts can be purchased in physical space. The shop has been created for e-Types in celebration of the redesign of their online store Playtype and will be open for one year only.

    In addition to fonts on usb sticks, customers can buy mugs, bags and books, among other things, that continue the typography theme.

    The playful interior takes its que from the black and white chequered floor and continues in monochrome featuring oversized fonts on windows and walls.

    The self-proclaimed ‘type nerds’ see the shop as a playground where staff can experiment freely with ideas. What is a shop now, may just be a gallery next week.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 28/02

    The Mast Brothers Chocolate factory

    The story of The Mast Brothers Chocolate began in a New York apartment, where Rick and Michael Mast started processing cocoa beans with a homemade machine. Overtime they refined their creation and started sourcing beans from family farms as far as Madagascar and Ecuador. Their chocolate is now produced in a small, three room factory in Williamsburg, New York, with the same passion and care as in the very beginning.

    On weekends the first room doubles as a shop front. Customers can browse their range of handmade chocolates in the pared down factory and catch a glimpse of the machinery that was used to make it. During the week is when the real action takes place, from sorting and processing the cocoa beans to making the chocolate and wrapping it.

    The history and process of making chocolate is as important to the brothers as the final product and this care is evident in the quality, each bar is unique and no two have quite the same flavour.

    The chocolates are hand wrapped in golden foil and decorative paper.

    The brothers are now planning on navigating the Atlantic in order to source beans and get to know the people who grow them.

    Images via The Scout.

  • 04/02

    The Wyckoff Exchange by Andre Kikoski

    Andre Kikosi has completely transformed a disused warehouse in Brooklyn, New York into The Wyckoff Exchange, an organic food market and live music venue. The building boasts a new motorised Corten steel skin, nodding to the structure’s industrial past. The facade panels can fold out to shelter the pavement and open the space to the street.

    The structure takes on a dramatic alter ego by night when the facade is lit by hundreds of LEDs in the perforations of the skin, giving the building a glowing appearace that reflects the vibrancy of the neighbourhood.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 22/12

    AESOP AOYAMA SHOP BY SCHEMATA ARCHITECTURE

    Japanese architect Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects has designed the interior of the first Aesop shop in Aoyama, Tokyo. Mainly built from materials found in an abandoned house in nakano-ku due for demolition, the space is minimal and contemporary whilst possessing the warmth and richness of traditional Japanese design.

    Aesop’s range of hair and skincare products sit on bundles of timber taken from the abandoned ‘murazawa’ house and wooden panels from the house are reincarnated as neatly stacked display shelves. The best thing about this project is the attention to detail, clearly fuelled by a deep appreciation of raw everyday materials and the glimpses of past uses they reveal. Blank surfaces are defined by small details of the shops skeleton. Much like a Rachel Whiteread sculptures, channels are dug around water pipes and manholes in the  floor and filled with epoxy resin and lighting cables are exposed and arranged in linear patterns, like delicate drawings.

    via designboom images

  • 18/12

    Richard Chai Pop-Up Store by Snarkitecture

    The Brooklyn-based office Snarkitecture has designed a pop-up store in collaboration with American fashion designer Richard Chai under the High Line in New York City.

    While seemingly a simple black box from the outside, the interior features a topographical  wall treatment constructed out of white foam that transforms the temporary space into an urban glacial cavern. The space is created as part of the Building Fashion series at HL23, presented by Boffo and Spilio Gianakopoulos.

    The single material, carved by hand with the aid of a hot wire cutter, was extruded and excavated to create dynamic and seamless display areas for Richard Chai’s collection. Ranging from shelves to hang bars, the unusual interior arrangement calls for a critical curatorial eye for display.

    After the shop was closed, the material was returned to the manufacturer to be recycled into rigid foam insulation.

    Via designboom

  • 24/11

    DELICATESSEN 2 BY Z-A STUDIO, TEL AVIV

    New York based Z-A Studio have designed this shop entitled Delicatessen 2 in Tel Aviv. The shop interior is stripped down to the bare essentials with a lining of double height pegboard running from floor to ceiling, creating an adaptable and flexible product display.

    Complimenting the blank canvases of the pegboards are splashes of vibrant yellow, highlighting pieces of found and recycled furniture. The designers refer to the pegboard display structure as a ‘dress’ with sections cut and pulled away to reveal a yellow ‘undergarment’.The concept was to create a retail space which is able to grow, mutate and adapt along with changing fashion seasons and an evolving brand.

    Photographs by Assaf Pinchuk

  • 28/10

    RICHARD CHAI AND SNARKITECTURE POP UP STORE


    Brooklyn based architects Snarkitecture and fashion designer Richard Chai have teamed up to transform a retail space into an urban glacier using a single material, white architectural foam. An existing structure was lined with foam and walls were sculpted by hand with hot wire cutters creating a landscape of light and shade perfect for housing Richard Chai’s latest fashion collection.

    Designed as part of the Building Fashion series at HL23, a collaboration between architects and fashion designers, the space reveals a curatorial approach to architectural design and fashion. Niches and insertions into the cavernous foam walls become moments of display, telling the story of the collection piece by piece. There’s just something so satisfying about the perfectly straight slices and rocky surfaces of the foam, however I did wonder about the use of such an energy intensive material for a temporary installation.Thankfully, the architects have recognised this issue and the sculptural walls will be re-incarnated as rigid building insulation.


    

  • 27/08

    RK Apothecary by The Los Angeles Design Group

    “Outré fruit” is a new retail display solution deployed by Los Angeles Design Group for the interior design of RK Apothecary, a bath and body product shop. The bizarre looking pods are a response the limitations of square or rectilinear tables in a restricted space, compromising the way customers are able to navigate through the space.

    The pods have anatomic similarities to the humble strawberry, whose “exterior gives little clue to the structural nature of its interior.” The amorphous white, ridged objects are teasingly sliced at certain points to reveal their blood-red, exotic interiors, lit by a single bulb. LADG also experimented with the idea by using water filled ice bags, intrigued by the way they “slumped, folded and wallowed around obstacles.” The pods’ fluid forms are a stark contrast to the sharp angles and hard concrete surfaces of the existing store.

    Designers Andrew Holder and Benajmin Freyinger drew inspiration from still-life paintings by Caravaggio and Rubens. They say“ these artists used fruit as sumptuous, scene-setting devices in exactly the way we hoped to deploy our to present product in the store. In that sense, the outré fruit is set afloat inside the environment and piled with tempting objects to browse.”

    Images via The Contemporist

  • 27/07

    Precinct 5 Concept Store by Kuub

    Malvin Wix, a DJ turned retailer, has always dreamed of running a shop, one that features a range of original merchandise that lies close to his heart. He proves to be a man with very good taste with Precinct 5, the realisation of this dream. It stocks a selection of quality streetwear and unisex collections from big labels like Head Porter and Bedwin and the Heartbreakers down to the artisanial, many of which have previously been unavailable in Amsterdam.  ‘Today’s leading stores select items for their customers. They know exactly what today’s savvy shoppers want: the best jeans, the best cd’s, the most innovative collabs. Anything cool!’ he says.

    The front section of the store used to be a police station [hence the store name], but it was the back section that Wix fell in love with. Its high ceiling and utilitarian elements provided the perfect canvas for the stylish, minimalist interior Kuub Architects helped him create. They designed sleek modular shelves made of steel and wood paneling. These dramatic structures become a defining feature along with the stripped back stairs. The shelves can be disassembled and moved around, opening up the possibility of endless configurations. The interior is a result of a strong concept, reflecting the quality items Wix handpicks, carried through consistently in an inventive way.

  • 21/07

    Harvey Nichols Window Display

    The temporary nature of window display installations make them excellent opportunities for experimental, conceptual design. London department stores always surprise with exceptionally good ones that can almost be called art. Harvey Nichols’ new series of displays originated from the theme ‘Everyday Things’. The series of windows feature elaborate sculptures made of objects ranging from pencils to plastic toys. A piano made of cassettes, a dress of clothespins, a car made of tiny plastic toys, men constructed from a collection of books, bikes made of tools, and more! The lively series is stunning and worth a see!

    (images via Notcot)

  • 07/07

    Nike Stadium

    To celebrate the World Cup Nike has opened Nike Stadiums in major cities across the globe and provided many enthusiastic fans with interesting soccer-inspired spaces to get immersed in. At Nike Stadium NYC various programs and performances are taking place throughout the summer, including match viewings and film screenings exploring the creative expression of soccer. The multipurpose space is located in the Browery Stadium and was designed by architectural agency Rafael de Cardenas. The ‘stadium’ has many experimental features like the concertina display pictured below and triangular boxes that can be rearranged to produce different seating configurations.

    Reflecting its location it is not overly sleek, contrasting new fittings with exposed services to create a New York edge, playful, but hard-wearing. The architects of the space used materials interestingly increasing the tactile experience of the interactive furnishings. The graphics on the walls are equally engaging and range from old school illustrated wallpaper to to high tech digital prints.  Standard light fittings in unusual arrangements were used very effectively and this adds another dynamic layer to the space.

    (images from Nike)

  • 05/07

    Foldaway Bookshop by Campaign

    The theme of this year’s London Festival of Architecture was ‘the welcoming city’ and we saw interesting projects that make the city more friendly pop up all over town. A project that excited architecture and book lovers alike was the Foldaway Bookshop, crafted entirely from cardboard and opening for only 13 days it was a must see part of the festival and a one stop specialist bookshop. The bespoke interior, with its walls and shelves of cardboard was designed by Campaign and featured cardboard furniture from Eurban. To keep this temporary shop environmentally friendly the cardboard will be recycled now that the festival has ended.

    The browsing experience was made more interesting with displays of book recommendations from architects and critics practicing in London and a noteworthy collection of vintage publications, including a display of vintage copies of Architectural Design on loan from the personal collection of late Monica Pidgeon, who as editor of the magazine for 30 years built it into the internationally well respected publication it is today. And if all of the books and displays weren’t enough to get your archi-fix they also projected clips from films featuring architecture and the city in the space and hosted an array of interesting talks.

    (images from Paul Greenleaf)

  • 10/06

    24 Issey Miyake Shop by Nendo

    Based on the concept of the Japanese convenience store, 24 ISSEY MIYAKE shops combine inexpensive prices, a large variety of colours and frequent changes in product lineup. The Miyake team wanted a new design concept for the 24 Issey Miyake shop in Shibuya’s Parco shopping complex, which includes a store that specially features Miyake’s new Bilbao bag.

    The Bilbao bag has no set form. Instead, it settles depending on how it is placed. To match the bag, we abandoned the standard hard, flat and smooth fixtures found in most shops, and created a set of variable-height fixtures made of thin steel rods that stand like a field of prairie grass in the shop, with a similar vague, undefined shape like the bag.

    Shelving and hanger rods are also made of steel rods, in the 7 mm diameter common to all of the 24 Issey Miyake shop interiors. Supported by ‘points’, rather than by surfaces or lines, the bags seem to waft in the air like flowers in a light breeze, creating the illusion of a field of flowers in the store.

  • 06/05

    Undercover

    It was love at first sight when I saw images of the new Undercover shop in Kanazawa by fashion designer, Jun Takahashi, and interior designer, Kazuya Sasaki. The Japanese brand’s ninth boutique is based on the interior design of its flagship in Aoyama.

    Both spaces are characterized by their beautiful light bulb infused ceilings, without a doubt the most striking feature. Even though they first did this in July 2009, it is still painfully fresh. They allowed the this ethereal looking installation to take center stage by keeping the rest of the interior minimal and muted. The Dieter Rams audio equipment and shelving, along with industrial detailing, perfectly compliment the overall look.

    My only problem with this project is that I probably won’t get to see it firsthand any time soon.

    (images courtesy of solediction)

  • 27/04

    Skitsch

    New Italian brand, Skitsch, has opened shop in Brompton Road, London, after success at last years Salone. The showroom playfully displays interesting furniture by Maarten Baas, Naoto Fukasawa, Konstantin Grcic and Marcel Wanders, as well as new talent 5.5 and Luca Nichetto. Founder, Renato Preti, aims to have beautiful yet surprising pieces in the collection, steering away from a particular style so that shoppers can choose from different design personalities. The space was designed to be inviting and features tactile surfaces and lively compositions, so as not to be intimidating as showrooms sometimes tend to be.

    image courtesy of Wallpaper*

    image courtesy of Wallpaper*

  • 04/03

    Besiktas Fish Market in Istanbul by GAD

    Located in one of istanbul’s most populated and diverse neighborhoods, besiktas is an eclectic area with a village-like atmosphere that is in the process of urban renewal. The besiktas fish market is located on a triangular site. it is an iconic venue where many locals and visitors buy fresh fish daily. the construction of the old fish market was in very poor shape and needed to be replaced.

    The design solution was to maintain its iconic neighborhood presence, while also  reaffirming its welcoming feeling. GAD (global architectural development) designed a triangular shaped concrete shell covering the entire site with large openings at street level. The concrete shell provides a column-free interior space, optimizing the project’s programmatic needs. the new design injects a contemporary and pragmatic solution, at once preserving the fish market’s history.

    Via Designboom. All images courtesy GAD.

  • 02/03

    Lodge by Suppose Design Office

    Japanese architects Suppose Design Office have completed a hair salon in Hiroshima, Japan, with a band of mirror glass wrapped around the cutting space. Called Lodge, the salon is divided into three parts by shelves and the mirror strip, which is positioned at customers’ head height and affords a sense of privacy when they are seated. The interior features bare wooden furniture, and the mirror is frosted except for areas where clients will be seated.

    Via Dezeen.

  • 12/01

    Aroma of Shadow by Waterfrom Design

    Waterfrom Design from Taiwan have completed the interior of a shop selling essential oils in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where bottles are displayed atop wooden posts. Variations in timber on the floor represent shadows cast by these posts. More bottles are displayed on intersecting shelves, while square panels in different shades of purple are attached to the wall with velcro. Called Aroma of Shadow, the store is arranged on two levels and features different timbers inlaid and overlapped. A geometric design representing the diffusion of a scent is mounted on the ceiling.

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    Photographs are by Sam+Yvonne.

  • 09/01

    Smithfield menswear cardboard shop by Burnt Toast

    Peter Masters of Burnt Toast Designs has designed the interior for a menswear shop in Manchester, UK, using recycled cardboard boxes and tubes. For the interior of Smithfield menswear, Masters wanted to create a striking, affordable and sustainable design that could be easily changed. The cardboard dogs are inspired by the shop’s logo.

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    Via Dezeen, photos are by Shaw and Shaw

  • 07/12

    Winners of The Great Indoors Awards 2009

    The Great Indoors Awards 2009 honours interior projects in Sweden, Korea, USA and The Netherlands. On Saturday November 28 the international jury of The Great Indoors awarded five interior design projects during a festive ceremony in Maastricht (NL). The Great Indoors is an international, biennial award rewarding the best public interior designs in various categories every two years. By awarding prizes and hosting lectures and workshops, The Great Indoors hopes to promote a discussion on the growing importance of the interior throughout the world.

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    Beijing Noodle No.9 (above) in Las Vegas by Japanese studio Design Spirits is one of five winners of The Great Indoors Awards this year.

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    The awards were presented to the winners in five categories on Saturday 28 November. Design Spirits (top image) were winners in the category Relax and Consume.

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    Swedish design studio Guise were awarded Design Firm of the Year, while Prada Transformer by OMA (above two images) was awarded in the Show & Sell category.

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    Recycled Office for Gummo by Dutch interior architects i29 (above) won the Concentrate & Collaborate award.

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    The Serve and Facilitate category winners were Amsterdam designers Studio Roelof Mulder and Bureau Ira Koers for their project University Library of the University of Amsterdam.

    Via Dezeen

  • 17/11

    Creative Interior Design at Anthropologie, London

    Anthropologie, the eclectic American retailer specialising in hip, boho clothing and chic home ware products opened in London’s busy Regent St earlier this month.  The label originally evolved from a stylish sportswear line developed by sister store, Urban Outfitters.  The opening of the boutique marks the brand’s European retail outlet debut and the first opening of an Anthropologie store outside the USA.

    Anthropologie derived from the word ‘Anthropology’, which means the study of the human being and how we all differ from one another, has an interior and products that reflect its name’s meaning.   With an assortment of fashion brands and home ware products as well as an interior that features a living wall of various plant species, individuality and differentiation are ongoing visual themes.  Shortly after its opening, the front window display featured a cluster of tea bags suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier.   The tea bags, which appeared to be used, created a sense of wonder at the potential of everyday objects and how they fill our lives. The interior design, like the products, is not only aesthetically pleasing, it is cerebral and instantly take their viewer on a journey; how many tea bags do we use every day?  How many thoughts and ideas did these tea bags assist with in their own little way?

    There are many quirky interior design and visual merchandising details within the boutique that add to its character. Teapots, cups and saucers continue on from the tea theme to decorate the walls.  As with the tea bag chandelier they are presented intriguingly; they are wrapped in fabrics like lace and loosely knit wool that appear to be supporting them to the wall, like the objects are caught in a spider’s web.  At the entrance a mannequin wears a skirt made out of smashed cups and saucers, adding to the theme of recycled or lost and found everyday objects.  Overall the entrance area feels like fusion of shabby chic, eco-friendly design and the mad hatter’s tea party.

    Different sections of the Regent St Anthropologie store offer different experiences.  The basement offered a sea theme as an enormous sculpture of an underwater creature hung from the ceiling.  Below this a table decorated with ropes and rocks displayed culinary tools. The top floor displayed a bed with logs beneath the base, evoking the idea of a cosy fireplace at a countryside cottage.  All areas are connected by a gigantic vertical garden; literally a wall of greenery which extends from the basement through to the top floor providing an organic backdrop for the staircase.  The garden features several different types of plant species and shades of green- blues and purple-reds.

    Amazingly, the eclectic mix of brands, products and interior design concepts works really well together.  Exploration, individuality and differentiation weave their way through the Anthropologie boutique, making it a truly inspirational place.  The space is a perfect example of how creative and strong interior design is so important when it comes to creating that word-of-mouth buzz.Sea Creature, Anthropologie, Regent Sttea bags in window, anthropologie regent stvertical garden, Anthropologie, London, Regent Stvertical garden, Anthropologie, London, Regent StHanging Teabags, Anthropologie, Regent StLiving Wall, Anthropologie, Regent St

  • 03/11

    United Nude Flagship Store by Rem Koolhaas

    Architect Rem D Koolhaas has completed the interior of a new flagship store in Amsterdam for his shoe brand. Called United Nude, the brand was founded by Koolhaas with shoe manufacturer Galahad JD Clark. Shoes are displayed inside back-lit recesses in an undulating wall, which continuously changes colour. Others are presented in glass cases on wooden plinths, or positioned along wooden steps.

    From injection moulded shoes to high-end carbon fiber heels, United Nude is a brand founded on conceptual design, elegance and innovation. The characteristics of the brands products and DNA are also evident in the interior design of the flagship store, designed by brand Creative Director and architect Rem D Koolhaas. The store is a “dark-shop” concept which means the store is completely dark in all areas other than those where the products are showcased and literally highlighted. The most important and prominent element of the store design is the Wall of Light™, a computer-controlled LED wall which displays the United Nude products as a work of art encapsulated in geometric frames.

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    Via Dezeen

  • 18/09

    1948 Nike Playground Retail Store

    1948 is Nike’s creative playground-retail store in the old brick railway arches of Shoreditch, London. In addition to displaying and selling shoes, 1948 offers an entire art floor for events, installations and assorted fun. The installation created by Finland-born illustrator/artist/designer Kustaa Saksi is all about the historical fun journey of the Nike running shoe. Typical for the currently Amsterdam-based Saksi, the sprawling scene has a pop-art, retro feel that fits Nike’s history as a brand. Saksi’s Volkswagen van and psychedelic colors illustrate the pre-swoosh era in an earnest and deliberately clunky way.

    Via The Cool Hunter

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  • 10/09

    Nature Factory by Makoto Tanijiri

    Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama in Tokyo, Japan is presenting a store installation “nature Factory” by Makoto Tanijiri of Hiroshima architects Suppose Design Office. The installation uses plastic plumbing pipes and joints to create a series of tree-like forms inside the store.

    Denim as recognised work clothes formerly has, at times, shown different expressions as fashion items to the people. Equally, a group of plumbing, usually unnoticed, shows completely different expressions under the name of “Nature Factory”. The complex plumbing, trailing by the wall in all directions will cover all over the space. It is like a tree grown over a long time. An atmosphere like a natural arbor is created in the space covered with artificial plumbing.

    Diesel Denim Gallery Ayoama holds art installations twice a year on the 1st floor, and art exhibitions four times a year, featuring different artists on each floor. The installation runs until 31 January 2010.

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  • 08/08

    New Camper Store in Paris by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

    A special store project, designed by the Bouroullec Brothers, is located beside Paris’ imposing Centre Pompidou, a Mecca that everyone with an interest in design culture must visit at least once in their lifetime. Thus, Ronan and Erwan make their debut as Camper collaborators in the very city where they live and work.

    “For us, Camper is a very interesting brand, in the sense that it has proven to have a very open mindset. Each store has its own atmosphere. The shoes also cover a very wide range of types and styles. Consequently, our collaboration has has been a unique chance for us to try to contribute a clear-cut idea of what a store in Paris should be, welcoming and straightforward. With the use of different shades of red, textile interventions and a furniture collection designed for private home use, we tried to create a space that was both evident and surprising, a space able to produce special sensations: the red adds warmth, the cloths muffle sounds and give depth and the household furniture confers an air of simplicity. The textile interventions consist of backstitched blankets that partially cover the walls and certain furniture and décor elements. They are irregular and their relatively bright colours contrast with the red tone that pervades the entire store.”

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  • 01/08

    Monmouth Coffee at Borough Market

    One of the best places to buy coffee in London.

    Added to the experience of drinking great coffee prepared by the guru’s is the space. An old converted warehouse on the edge of the market place. They chose not to rip out the existing roller shutters that would have been used by the traders, but keep them, this gives the coffee connoisseur another experience of drinking under shelter whilst still being outside (demi fresco).

    In the cold winter months, local traders, office works, huddle inside the space with their heavy coats, and their hands clasped around their coffee cups in the hope to extract as much heat from it as possible.

    In the summer months, coffee drinkers sprawl outside the wide open shopfront, covering every inch of curb to soak up sun. The added bonus of being inside is the pastry selection and the large communal table with seats. On first arriving because everyone is packed around the communal table, one would easily be convinced that they are all friends.

    They started selling coffee from their Borough site in 2001. Monmouth actually started in 1978 in Covent Garden, on Monmouth Street. Covent Garden was a very different place in 1978. With their own whole bean coffee which is delivered daily and you can try any of their coffees before buying beans to take home. They sell filter and espresso coffee to stay or take away, as well as pastries and cakes to have with your coffee. There is a large communal table where you can sit and enjoy baguettes from Paul, pastries from Villandry and jams from England Preserves. They have a small range of coffee making equipment, and like Covent Garden, in the winter they sell chocolate from Pralus, as well as chocolate truffles from Sally Clarke.

    They are on the left, just inside the main market entrance on Borough High Street, London (SE1).

    2 Park Street, Borough, London, SE1 9AB tel: +44 (0)20 7940 9960
    Thursday – 11.00 to 17.00
    Friday – 11.00 to 18.00
    Saturday – 9.00 to 16.00

    27 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9EU
    tel: +44 (0)20 7379 3516