British architecture studio Al-Jawad Pike has used colourful marble for the interiors of trainer brand Athletic Propulsion Labs’ second flagship store in Soho, New York City.
The interior of the 3,900-square-foot space (1,188 square metre) was laid out in a curving amphitheatre design, which the studio designed to be “simple yet severe” while creating a “completely immersive experience,” Al-Jawad Pike studio co-founder Jessam Al-Jawad told Dezeen.
The centrepiece of the Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) store is five “vanity rooms” in a radial design, each clad in different-coloured onyx or marble stone with matching stone stools and back-lit mirrors.
The rainbow-colour array of stone, chosen by the client from different quarries, was “intended to represent the five boroughs of New York,” Al-Jawad said.
Five vanity rooms are each clad in distinctive coloured onyx or marble
A teardrop-shaped column is located in the centre of the store, while boulder-like plinths positioned around the space are used for product displays.
The textured display plinths were developed with a bespoke fabricator based in New York, who CNC-carved the forms.
The studio incorporated various other materials into the scheme such as textured sprayed plaster on the walls, Romano travertine for the floor, and champagne-coloured anodised aluminium for the display boxes.
Al Jawad Pike completed the interiors for Athletic Propulsion Lab’s flagship store in New York
The aim of the store layout was to allow customers to see all the products from all parts of the store.
“We approached this by creating an architectural form that displays the product in a pan-optical array to provide visibility in completeness from almost any part of the store; whilst maintaining a seamless link between staff back-of-house functions at the basement level with the main retail space,” the studio explained.
The space features a layout designed in a curvilinear amphitheatre style
The shoes are displayed in simple box frames, which are raised and lit up like artwork in a gallery. Ensuring that the trainers on display were the focal point was a main objective for the architects.
“The goal was to make sure the products were the main attraction in the store, while also making everything work smoothly for both customers and staff,” Al-Jawad Pike said.
The studio devised a store layout enabling customers to view all products from any part of the store
The store’s semi-circular layout has street-facing windows that let in the light, and the studio also added adjustable warm lighting from the back-lit, semi-circular ceiling to provide additional illumination.
“We wanted to create a wash of light from above to bath the space in a warm and comfortable ambience,” said Al-Jawad.
“At its top, the perimeter wall banks into a semi-circular, back-lit stretch ceiling with adjustable warmth to dramatically alter the atmosphere in the space.”
Sculpted boulders are dotted around the store space
Al-Jawad Pike was founded in 2014 by Al-Jawad and Dean Pike and aims to create spaces that “engender a sense of well-being and intrigue, as well as fun”.
Other retail interiors recently featured on Dezeen include Bottega Veneta’s Avenue Montaigne flagship store in Paris and Cúpla’s design for a boutique in central London.
American fashion brand Kith has returned to the location of its first Manhattan flagship to open a women-dedicated store, in which olive trees grow up through display podiums.
The inaugural Kith Women Flagship in Soho opened last December at 644 Broadway, the same historic landmark building where the brand debuted its Manhattan retail offering in 2011.
Custom-built podiums run through the middle of the Kith Women flagship store in Soho
Previously the Manhattan Savings Institute Bank, the red sandstone and brick structure’s exterior features wrought iron gates at the entrance and set the tone for the materials palette inside.
Kith founder and creative director Ronnie Fieg designed the interiors to include signature elements of the brand’s retail concepts, but with adjustments to acknowledge its context.
The main room displays apparel and accessories in walnut and brass-trimmed niches
“The ambiance exudes modern elegance with its warm and calming aura, constructed with materials like Venetian plaster, travertine, and rosa aurora [marble],” said the Kith team.
The spacious main room benefits from tall ceilings and an open floor plan, and presents Kith Women in-house and multi-brand ready-to-wear apparel against Venetian plaster and Kith monogrammed suede wallpaper.
In a room dedicated to footwear, shoes are presented on travertine shelves
Clothing is displayed on rails installed in walnut and brass-trimmed niches around the perimeter, with accessories like hats and bags placed on shelves above.
A row of square walnut podiums runs through the middle of the room, each with an olive tree growing up through the centre of its pink marble surface.
A cafe and flower shop is run in partnership with PlantShed, and features mosaic floors and a fluted marble service counter
Custom-built by Brooklyn-based woodworker Mark Jupiter, these units contain drawers for product storage, and alternating ones are topped with glass vitrines for showcasing jewellery and other small accessories.
Oak flooring is laid in a grid pattern transversed by walnut strips, and the darker wood also lines the fitting rooms.
Footwear has a dedicated room, in which shoes are displayed on shelves with integrated lighting that run from one end to the other.
“Entering the footwear space, you will find a grand arched plaster ceiling, travertine shelves, and a custom chandelier from Italy by Viabizzuno,” the team said.
The cafe leads out to a courtyard behind the historic building’s wrought iron gates
In the final room is a cafe run in partnership with New York-based flower and plant shop PlantShed, which serves light bites and drinks and offers custom floral arrangements.
The space features a mosaic tiled floor, walnut wall panelling, a service counter with a fluted pink marble front and floral displays on stepped stone plinths.
The cafe leads out to a courtyard area behind the building’s impressive iron gates, which furnished with cafe tables and chairs in between topiary plants shaped into spirals.
Kith Women is located at 644 Broadway, the same building where the brand opened its original flagship retail space in 2011
Feig also designed Kith’s recently opened Williamsburg store, located in the 25 Kent Plaza office building where the brand also has its corporate offices.
The company had previously worked with design studio Snarkitecture on its retail spaces around the world, including outposts in Miami, Los Angeles and Paris.
Italian studio AIM has designed a compact, multi-level apartment interior in Milan organised around a floor-to-ceiling Verde Alpi marble partition.
Created in collaboration with local marble artisans Bianco67, AIM Studio used the wall to divide the various functions of Green Nest, aiming to create an elegant backdrop for a dynamic domestic experience.
Monolithic green marble carves apartment interior by AIM Studio in Milan
“The design challenge [for] Green Nest was to combine the compact size of the dwelling with the desire to create inviting, functional and representative spaces pleasant to live in at all times of the day,” AIM Studio told Dezeen.
“We were looking for a single gesture to characterise the apartment [and were] inspired by the idea of a majestic wall [running] through the heart of the house,” the studio continued. “This massive element, both because of its solid presence and its intrinsic beauty, is the focal point on which the entire design revolves.”
The fluid living spaces can be divided by an operable ribbed glass door
The marble partition was constructed as a permeable threshold between the apartment’s lower level living spaces and a staircase leading to the habitable roof terrace above.
Designed as a single, fluid area, the main living room and bedroom can be separated by full-height ribbed glass doors.
The studio used the marble wall system to host functional storage and compartment spaces
AIM Studio sought to meet the practical requirements of small-footprint living by using the Alpi marble to conceal a series of deep storage compartments.
“More than a monolith, the volume is an inhabited wall whose thickness is continuously perforated, crossed and interrupted to host the different functions of living,” AIM Studio said.
“[It] was designed as a precious shell but [leaves] nothing to chance in terms of containment and management of the space. Every compartment, every opening, has been designed [for utility].”
Behind the marble partition, the staircase to the rooftop terrace was completed with a central lightwell to draw natural light into the space below.
The studio also integrated large windows into the main living area to encourage an interplay of light on the reflective marble surface and to evoke a chiaroscuro-like effect.
The compact kitchen was formed by suspended travertine joinery
Tucked into a corner of the living room, the kitchen was demarcated by suspended travertine joinery and an embossed mirror feature wall.
Neutral-toned fixtures and restrained furniture pieces were selected to balance the apartment’s modern aesthetic and emphasise the drama of the green marble.
An embossed mirror feature wall was connected to the kitchen nook
“We conceived this project as a search for authenticity; a minimal but at the same time welcoming and functional design created through natural, precious [and] timeless materials.”
“We hope that this search for authenticity will be perceived by those who will inhabit these spaces and that it will translate into family atmospheres and elegant, but convivial, environments.”
The studio selected a neutral material palette to emphasise the green marble gesture
Founded in 2012 by Claudio Tognacca in Milan, AIM Studio has projects spanning across architecture, interior design and product development both in Italy and internationally.
Other recently completed projects in Italy include Antonino Cardillo’s design for “a miniature palazzo” residence near Lake Garda and Humbert & Poyet’s interior conversion of a 16th-century Milanese chapel into a Beefbar restaurant.
Our latest lookbook shines a light on homes where marble and similar natural stones have been used as the primary material in the bathrooms.
Marble can be a great solution for bathrooms, as it is durable enough to withstand a wet environment better than alternative materials such as wood or concrete.
Many homeowners opt to use the same material across all surfaces, creating a uniform aesthetic that extends from the sink and shower areas across the walls.
Read on to see 10 different examples, featuring a range of marbles that include Carrera and Verde Aver, as well as similar natural stones such as travertine and quartzite.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. Other recent editions showcase Scandinavian kitchens, outdoor showers and eclectic interiors.
Habitat 100, Sweden, by Note Design Studio
Note Design Studio used two types of marble in its renovation of this 1920s Stockholm apartment, echoing the tones of an Italian marble floor in the hallway.
For the main bathroom, the designers opted for a pale Swedish marble known as Ekeberg. Some slabs were polished, while others were milled in different directions to create a subtle chequered pattern.
Elsewhere in the home, green-toned Brännlyckan marble offers a striking counterpoint.
Find out more about Habitat 100 ›
Eastern Columbia Loft, USA, by Sheft Farrace
Tasked with redesigning an apartment in Los Angeles’ Eastern Columbia building, a block with an iconic turquoise art-deco facade, architecture studio Sheft Farrace decided to work with the same palette in the main bathroom.
The architects did this with a statement wall of Verde Aver marble, an Italian stone with a similar green hue.
The marble forms a counter that spans the width of the room, integrating two basins, and also forms a splashback that extends all the way up to the ceiling.
Find out more about Eastern Columbia Loft ›
Botaniczna Apartment, Poland, by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio
A warm-toned travertine features in the bathroom of this apartment in Poznań, which was renovated by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio for a professional couple.
While travertine is a limestone, so not technically a marble, it has a similarly patterned finish.
The stone wraps the walls and the bath, and also forms a cuboidal washbasin. The same stone also features in the home’s kitchen, where it was used to create an island counter.
Find out more about Botaniczna Apartment ›
The Village, Germany, by Gisbert Pöppler
Wood and marble are combined throughout this apartment renovation by Berlin designer Gisbert Pöppler, in the city’s Mitte district, but the juxtaposition is particularly striking in the bathroom.
The room features a bathtub set within a niche that is lined with highly variegated South American marble.
The warm tones of the stone are echoed by the wooden flooring, as well as by a basin unit that combines dark oak with white-glazed lava stone.
Find out more about The Village ›
Flat #6, Brazil, by Studio MK27
Studio MK27 chose highly textured materials for this renovation of a four-bedroom flat in São Paulo, home to a couple and their three teenage sons.
For the washrooms, the designers selected grey Armani, a Mediterranean marble that combines dark tones with white accents.
The stone has been carefully arranged to ensure the white streaks run through niches set into the walls, which provide space for storing soap and shampoo.
Find out more about Flat #6 ›
D2 Townhouse, UK, by Jake Moulson
Multi-coloured stone offered a good fit for the eclectic interiors of this renovated townhouse in Dublin, designed by architect Jake Moulson.
The most striking example can be found in an under-stairs toilet, where a Brazilian quartzite called Azul Imperial combines shades of purple, blue and gold.
Find out more about D2 Townhouse ›
ER Apartment, Brazil, by Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos
This family home in São Paulo, designed by Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos, features different types of Brazilian stone.
In the bathroom, white Parana marble forms the walls and floor, and also provides surfaces within a trough-shaped bronze sink that was custom-made to echo the curves of a mirror above.
Elsewhere in the home, panels of jade-coloured onyx serve as surfaces and also conceal an in-wall light fixture.
Find out more about ER Apartment ›
Twentieth, USA, by Woods + Dangaran
A marble known as Bronze Vena, or “bronze vein”, is the focal point of the en-suite in the main bedroom of this Santa Monica home by Los Angeles-based Woods +Dangaran.
Large-format slabs of this stone cover the walls, floor and ceiling of the bath area, toilet and walk-in shower.
The slabs were cleverly book-matched at the centre of the room for a symmetrical effect. Slabs effectively mirror each other, creating zigzags within the vein patterns.
Find out more about Twentieth ›
West 76th Street, USA, by Messana O’Rorke
This apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is home to the founders of the skincare brand Malin + Goetz, so special attention was naturally paid to the bathrooms.
New York-based studio Messana O’Rorke combined brass fittings with Carrera marble – the hugely popular Italian stone – with the ambition of creating a “spa-like” feeling.
One bathroom features a marble recess with an integrated sink and mirror, while the other boasts a shower that is illuminated by a hidden pocket in the ceiling.
Find out more about West 76th Street ›
Villa Waalre, Netherlands, by Russell Jones
To match the minimal aesthetic of this woodland home in Waalre, near Eindhoven, bathrooms are finished in Statuario, a white marble quarried in Italy.
The effect works particularly well in the main bedroom, where a free-standing partition wall divides off part of the space for an en-suite. This volume incorporates a marble basin, as well as timber-fronted drawers.
Find out more about Villa Waalre ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. Other recent editions showcase Scandinavian kitchens, outdoor showers and eclectic interiors.
From veiny and earthy to sleek and spotless, our latest lookbook features eight kitchens from the Dezeen archive that prominently feature marble.
Marble is a metamorphic stone formed when limestone rock is heated and pressured in the Earth’s crust, making it crystallise and form a streaky, swirly mix. The smooth stone can be used on walls, floors and other surfaces, often in bathrooms or kitchens.
In larger kitchens, marble can be used to form sturdy islands, breakfast bars or dining tables while in smaller spaces, it can be used as an easy-to-clean splashback or countertop for meal preparation.
Here are eight interior projects that feature marble kitchens, including a playful apartment in Melbourne and a minimalist house in Canada.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes informed by biophilic design, colourful 1970s interiors and homes with sliding doors.
Photo is by Eduardo Macarios
Apartment 207, Brazil, by Belotto Scopel Tanaka
For the revamp of a 75-square-metre apartment in Brazil, architecture studio Belotto Scopel Tanaka employed a simple material palette of glossy, dark wooded cabinetry against black and white marble.
On one side of the marble breakfast bar, there is space for the residents to sit and enjoy meals; on the other, there are several drawers for crockery and kitchenware storage.
Find out more about Apartment 207 ›
Photo is by Piet-Albert Goethals
Deknudt Nelis, Belgium, by Arjaan de Freyter
Blackened steel, dark walnut fittings and deep-green marble slabs fill the interior of this pared-back office that Belgian studio Arjaan de Freyter designed for law firm Deknudt Nelis.
The same veiny stone used for the striking kitchen island has also been used to line the inner shelves of a full-height storage unit. Architect De Freyter chose the material to convey “decisiveness and professionalism,” he told Dezeen.
Find out more about Deknudt Nelis ›
Photo is by Benjamin Hosking
Brunswick Apartment, Australia, by Murray Barker and Esther Stewart
Like the majority of this Melbourne apartment, its L-shaped kitchen pays homage to the 1960s, with the same pistachio green tones and speckled flooring as its original mid-century interior.
The designers used Rosa Alicante marble on the top of the custom-made steel frame table and long countertops, which complements the terrazzo floor tiles beneath.
Find out more about Brunswick Apartment ›
Photo is by Daniel Salemi
Brooklyn Loft, US, by Dean Works
New York studio Dean Works added a statement multi-functional plywood unit in the kitchen of this Brooklyn apartment, giving its occupants some much-needed storage space.
Its in-built grey and white marble countertop was cut away to make space for a traditional white sink and a gas hob, while the shelves provide space above the counter for tableware, crockery and cooking utensils.
Find out more about Brooklyn Loft ›
Photo is by Piet-Albert Goethals
Belgian Apartment, Belgium, by Carmine Van Der Linden and Thomas Geldof
Local architects Carmine Van Der Linden and Thomas Geldof designed this coastal two-floor apartment to reflect its calm countryside surroundings.
Seaweed-coloured joinery and streaky Alga Marina marble surfaces make the kitchen the focal point of the residence and contrast the panelled birchwood cabinets and shelves.
Find out more about Belgian Apartment ›
Photo is by Andrew Snow
Beaconsfield Residence, Canada, by StudioAC
Located in Toronto, this Victorian townhouse renovated by StudioAC combines clean white hues with wooden furnishing and flooring.
The overhaul included opening up the interior by reorganising the layout, as well as installing a black marble-covered kitchen island to provide a darker contrast.
Find out more about Beaconsfield Residence ›
Photo is by Raphaël Thibodeau
Cottage on the Point, Canada, by Paul Bernier Architecte
Designed by local studio Paul Bernier Architecte, this sun-drenched kitchen sits within a house extension in Cottage on the Point, a lakeside dwelling in Quebec.
The large glass windows that frame views of the surrounding trees and night skies also allow light to bounce across the pale marble surfaces that line the table, shelves and countertops.
Find out more about Cottage on the Point ›
Photo is by Timothy Kaye
Barwon Heads House, Australia, Adam Kane Architects
Australian studio Adam Kane Architects blanketed the barn-style extension of Barwon Heads House in a monochrome interior palette and contemporary finishes.
The open plan kitchen and dining area is divided by a large marble dining table, while elsewhere in the cottage, matching slabs of travertine marble are used as countertops and coffee tables.
Find out more about A Barwon Heads House ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with Eames chairs, memorable pop-up shops and interiors informed by Bauhaus principles.
New York studio Messana O’Rorke has extended its collaboration with skincare brand Malin + Goetz by designing an apartment for its founders on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where special attention was paid to the bathrooms.
After creating store interiors for the brand across the US for several years, Messana O’Rorke turned its attention to a space for co-founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz to live in.
Messana O’Rorke renovated the apartment in a historic building on West 76th Street
The apartment on West 76th Street was fully renovated for the couple to reflect their passions for beauty and wellness, while embracing the building’s history.
“The space creates a gentle push and pull between the comfort of the past and the vigor of the present – embedded in the architectural details,” said Messana O’Rorke.
A mixture of contemporary and vintage furniture and artworks imbue the spaces with personality
These details include a traditional baseboard that encircles the main living spaces but ends abruptly in the central vestibule, where it is replaced with a quarter-inch (0.6-centimetre) shadow gap between the walls and floor for a more modern look.
Reclaimed oak parquet flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern throughout most of the rooms, providing the air of a European pied-à-terre.
Light materials were used for surfaces in the narrow kitchen
A simplified version of a plaster relief detail – found during the demolition of a dropped ceiling in the bedroom – also wraps the wall and ceiling junctions, suggestive of crown moulding.
While these details all tie the living spaces together, it’s in the bathrooms that Messana O’Rorke has made the most dramatic interventions.
In the two bathrooms, Carrera marble lines the walls, floors and showers
“Given that the homeowners are the founding partners of Malin + Goetz, Messana O’Rorke paid particular attention to the design of the two bathrooms, which reflect the beauty brand’s ethos as a modern apothecary,” said the studio.
Unlacquered brass fixtures and hardware are installed against Carrera marble, which clads the walls, floors and showers to create a “spa-like” feeling.
A hidden light strip appears to wash the stone in the shower with daylight
In one bathroom, mirrors surrounded a window above the sink, where more brass is used to line the recess and forms a trim around the perimeter.
A shower is illuminated from a hidden pocket in the ceiling, giving the illusion that the stone wall is washed with daylight.
The same marble is continued in the narrow kitchen as countertops and backsplash, keeping the space light in tandem with white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
Furniture is a blend of contemporary and vintage, mixing dark woods with sofas in muted velvet upholstery.
Unlacquered brass is used for fixtures and to line a window recess
A variety of artworks decorate the living room and den walls, while a large collection of books fills shelves in the office – both providing more colour and personality to the apartment.
“Much like the Malin + Goetz boutiques the firm had previously designed, a single vintage display element subtly offsets the taut architectural envelope; the furnishings and interior appointments bridge the traditional and the modern,” Messana O’Rorke said.
Herringbone patterned parquet was laid through the living spaces
The studio was founded in 1996 by Brian Messana and Toby O’Rorke, and has previously renovated an 18th-century home in Upstate New York.
Renovations on the Upper West Side completed by other studios include a residence by Stadt Architecture where existing brickwork walls were paired with walnut floors and a 1920s apartment overhauled with custom millwork by Format Architecture Office.
