External Reference creates 3D-printed organic displays for La Manso store
CategoriesInterior Design

External Reference creates 3D-printed organic displays for La Manso store

3D-printed shelving structures informed by Catalan-modernist buildings were used for shelving in this store designed by External Reference for a Spanish jewellery brand.

Experimental jewellery designer Adriana Manso asked Carmelo Zappulla’s studio External Reference to develop a suitably unusual interior concept for her first physical store in the city.

Exterior of La Manso store in BarcelonaExterior of La Manso store in Barcelona
The store is in the Eixample district

The project involved designing a window display and shelving for the 25-square-metre store, which is located in Barcelona’s Eixample district just a few metres from the house where Manso was born.

Manso is known for her playful pieces made from recycled plastic, which she wanted to display in a space that evokes the luxury feel of an haute-couture boutique.

Interior of La MansoInterior of La Manso
It features a 3D-printed interior informed by architecture

External Reference sought to combine the contemporary plasticity of La Manso’s jewellery with motifs influenced by Barcelona’s early 20th-century architecture, including the building in which the store is situated.

“Our design concept revolved around bringing the exterior facade inside, creating a melted and fluid background that would serve as an artistic canvas for showcasing the jewellery,” Zappulla told Dezeen.

“By blending the expressive elements of Catalan modernism with the organic forms inspired by La Manso design, our goal was to craft a visually captivating environment that elevates the overall shopping experience.”

Floral details in Barcelona storeFloral details in Barcelona store
External Reference created wavy shapes for the space

The designers selected fragments from the decorative facade and abstracted them using a process involving hand drawing and computational design techniques.

In particular, floral details from the elaborate canopy at the store’s entrance were reinterpreted as large rosettes incorporating futuristic glitches and bas-reliefs.

The organic shapes form shelving units that range in height from 90 centimetres to 1.7 metres. Jewellery and accessories are displayed on the shelves, as well as on a small table at the centre of the space.

The furniture is made from biodegradable cellulose and was produced with technical support from specialist 3D-printing workshop La Máquina.

Zappulla and his team refined the digital models to optimise them for printing. This involved splitting them into manageable parts that could be processed by the machine’s robotic arm.

Barcelona jewellery storeBarcelona jewellery store
The aim was to provide a neutral backdrop

All of the printed elements are finished in a muted off-white shade that matches the rest of the interior and provides a neutral backdrop for displaying the jewellery.

Large, mirrored surfaces help to make the interior feel more expansive, while spotlights provide targeted illumination for highlighting the collection.

In addition to the main furniture, the designers also developed a window display and 3D-printed signage that extend the store’s conceptual design out into the street.

Shelving at La MansoShelving at La Manso
The La Manso interior has a muted colour palette

Large-scale 3D-printing technology offers designers possibilities to create unique elements for branded interiors, which makes it increasingly popular for retail spaces.

Spanish design studio Nagami has created a store for sustainable clothing brand Ecoalf featuring transparent 3D-printed displays that recall melting glaciers, while Dutch architecture practice Studio RAP used the technology to produce a wave-like tiled facade for an Amsterdam boutique.

The photography is courtesy of External Reference.

Reference

Moschino store in Millan designed to reference the “history of ancient Italy”
CategoriesInterior Design

Moschino store in Millan designed to reference the “history of ancient Italy”

Italian studio Andrea Tognon Architecture has collaborated with former Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott to renovate the brand’s flagship store in Milan.

Located on Via della Spiga, one of Milan’s famed shopping streets, the store sits within the 18th-century Palazzo Perusati, which was recently transformed by real estate company Hines into a luxury retail development.

The store was designed by Andrea Tognon Architecture in collaboration with Scott who aimed to recreate and allude to the history of ancient Italy through a minimalist yet ornamental interior scheme.

Interior image of the Moschino flagship
The Moschino Milan store was designed by Andrea Tognon and Jeremy Scott

“I was inspired by the rich history of ancient Italy and the beauty and decadent opulence of its design,” said Scott.

“Sometimes we start to design from memories, sometimes from form, materials and colours,” added Andrea Tognon Architecture founder Andrea Tognon.

“For this project, I started only from words.”

Photo of the interior of the Moschino Milan store
It is located within a recently renovated retail hub

The Milan flagship spans two floors and covers 380 square metres.

Its ground floor is dedicated to the brand’s women’s ready-to-wear collections and accessories, while its first floor is dedicated to its men’s and kid’s collections.

Photo of the Moschino store
Oversized columns and capitals fill the store

Throughout the interior, Andrea Tognon Architecture used rich materials that speak to Moschino’s baroque flair, which was also highlighted through decorative and oversized architectural elements.

A checkered floor constructed from Botticino marble and green stone, sourced from Brazil, covers the ground floor retail area while the above floors were clad in yellow Siena marble.

A vast stone spiral staircase connects the two floors of retail space and forms a continuation of the oversized checkered floor – with the tread and rise of each step similarly clad in green stone and marble.

Patinated brass lighting stretches rhythmically in horizontal rows across the ceiling of the store. Curving tubular display rails line the boundaries of the interior and were constructed in the same brass finish.

Pale pink spiral staircase
Marble and stone cover the floors

Pops of colour were introduced to the interior through bright yellow lacquered wood shelving that flank the walls of the store and follow its curving profile.

Oversized columns and capitals were placed throughout the interior and function as furniture and display areas for the brand’s products and accessories.

Interior photo of the Milan store
It was designed to reference the ancient history of Italy

Also scattered throughout the store are additional custom furniture pieces that were created by Scott in homage to Moschino’s founder Franco Moschino.

These tables combine two tables which were spliced in the middle, joined together and decorated with marble tops and gold leaf ornamentation.

Photo of shelving at the store
Pops of colours were incorporated throughout the store

Last week news broke that Jeremy Scott was leaving Moschino after a decade-long tenure at the Milanese fashion house. In 2020, Scott replaced models at his Spring Summer 2021 show with puppets that wore the brand’s womenswear collection.

Elsewhere in Milan, London design studios Brinkworth and The Wilson Brothers created a caravan-shaped artist studio for Marni’s flagship store in the Italian city.

The photography is by Adriano Mura.

Reference

Chzon studio designs airport departure hall to reference Parisian life
CategoriesInterior Design

Chzon studio designs airport departure hall to reference Parisian life

French design agency Chzon studio has added archways and fountains that reference iconic Parisian monuments to a departure lounge at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

Chzon studio redesigned the boarding gate area in Terminal 2G with the aim of creating a dynamic representation of Paris’ design and history in a typically utilitarian area of the airport.

Photograph showing airport departure lounge with green seating and wooden chess tables
The vast space is punctuated by white columns and sculptural installations

The 1,300-square-meter space is populated by rounded seating in dark blue and green upholstery, which takes aesthetic cues from the 1960s and 1970s, arranged in benches, booths and pairs.

To zone the space and instill privacy, the studio added partitions and expressive white sculptures by artist studio Les Simonnets, which double as alternative bench seating.

Photograph showing airport departure lounge with green bench seats and large tree-like rounded white sculptures
References to Paris are made at varying scales throughout the space

The studio made reference to iconic Parisian monuments by installing archways that nod to the Arc de Triomphe, as well as a fountain that is reminiscent of the water feature in the Jardin du Luxembourg and surrounded by green metal chairs similar to those found in Paris’ parks.

Rows of wooden tables have been inlaid with chess boards in another reference to the parks of Paris. Passengers can use these as workspaces, to eat at, or to play games on while waiting for flights.

Photograph showing airport departure lounge with green chairs, white fountain and terrazzo flooring
The miniature fountain is a focal point within the terminal

As well as designing some of the lighting for the interior in-house, the studio also sourced and installed antique lighting and other decorative objects from the city’s St Ouen flea market, including giant wall lights and aluminium sunshades.

To keep the space relevant to its function, Chzon also made references to aeroplane design by employing metallic details, patterned finishes and reclining plane-style seats designed by Italian architect and furniture designer Osvaldo Borsani.

“[The design] dramatises the boarding lounge while keeping the passenger informed,” Dorothée Meilichzon, founder of Chzon studio, said of the interior design.

“The departure lounge becomes a smooth transition between the Paris that we are leaving and the plane that is going to take off.”

Photograph showing airport departure lounge with abstract mural above windows and green seating
The mural is applied to perforated sheets and wraps around the walls above the windows

The space also features a mural inspired by the work of French painter Sonia Delaunay that sits above the windows, which overlook the runways and allow views of planes taking off and landing.

This fresco also references symbols used in airport signage and carries similar rounded motifs to the ones present in the retro-style seating and lighting.

Photograph showing airport departure lounge with green bench seats and abstract mural behind
Rounded elements in furniture, lighting and decor reference the design of the 1960s and 1970s

Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, is the French capital’s principle airport.

Other airport-related projects published on Dezeen include the cosy remodelling of an airport in Colorado, USA by Gensler and an airport that contains the world’s tallest indoor waterfall by Safdie architects.

Images are courtesy of Chzon studio

Reference