SoHo Archives

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.

backlit colourful marble — 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.

Athletic Propulsion Lab flag ship store by Al Jawad Pike — 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 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 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.”

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.

The photography is by Ståle Eriksen.

Reference

Interior Design

Kith Women Flagship in Soho combines walnut and pink marble

By Zarkon Group,17/02/2024

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.

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.

Kith Women store with apparel and accessories displayed in walnut and brass-trimmed niches — 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.

Footwear room with shoes presented on travertine shelves — 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 featuring mosaic floors and a fluted marble service counter — 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.

Cafe in a courtyard behind historic wrought iron gates — 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.

Exterior view of red sandstone building at 644 Broadway — 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.

The photography is courtesy of Kith.

Reference

Interior Design

Martin Brudnizki draws on “gritty glamour” for Broadwick Soho hotel

By Zarkon Group,30/11/2023

Interior architect Martin Brudnizki has used Italian maiolica tiles and bespoke furniture from India to give London’s Broadwick Soho hotel an eclectic look.

The eight-floor hotel was designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio (MBDS) to evoke the history of Soho – the London neighbourhood that surrounds it.

“Inspired by ‘gritty glamour’ and the diverse history of Soho, MBDS’s design influences range from 1970s disco pop elements to British eccentricity,” studio founder Martin Brudnizki told Dezeen.

The hotel was also influenced by “the strong women who frequented Soho during the 1960s and 70s such as Mary Fedden, Molly Parkin and Muriel Belcher.”

Bar at Broadwick Soho — Maiolica tiles decorate the restaurant bar

Broadwick Soho is comprised of 57 rooms, which Brudnizki decorated in opulent colours and patterns. For the downstairs Italian restaurant, Dear Jackie, Brudnizki sourced materials and accessories that nod to its cuisine.

“A split-level restaurant, the communal dining takes centre stage with long counter-style tables featuring 1970s Formica tops and Memphis-inspired chandeliers suspended from coral lacquered ceilings,” he said.

Bar Jackie by Martin Brudnizki — Floral patterns cover the walls of the restaurant

“The bar features maiolica tiles in traditional southern Italian patterns,” Brudnizki added. “This compliments the maiolica wall covering adorned with Sicilian folk motifs of grapes and flowers.”

The handpainted ceramic tiles for the bar were developed by the studio itself together with a family business in Sicily.

Elephant wallpaper at Broadwick Soho — Rooms feature decorative elephant wallpaper

In some of the guestrooms, walls were decorated with marbled wallpaper with a pattern of tigers and elephants. The elephant was chosen as a symbol for the hotel and was also turned into mini bars in the hotel’s suites.

“A huge amount of bespoke pieces were designed by the studio and produced by talented craftspeople across the world,” Brudnizki said.

Elephant minibar in Soho hotel — Martin Brudnizki Design Studio had elephant minibars crafted in India

“The wonderful elephant mini bars in the suites were designed by the studio and crafted in India,” he added.

“We actually travelled to India to work with the craftspeople directly, ensuring each detail was as we envisioned.”

The Nook at Broadwick Soho — A vintage Murano glass chandelier hangs in The Nook

The studio also sourced a number of vintage pieces for the hotel, including a 1970s Murano glass chandelier that hangs from the ceiling of The Nook – Broadwick Soho’s residents-only ground-floor lounge.

MBDS also commissioned new Murano glass lamps that are scattered throughout the space.

“All of the Murano glass lights throughout the property have been made and developed by local artisans in the Venice region,” Brudnizki said.

“Lastly, there is a collection of antiques throughout the hotel that have been sourced from independent Italian and British antique dealers, auction houses and shops.”

Flute bar in Soho — Rooftop bar Flute features a variety of polished materials

Broadwick Soho’s rooftop dining bar – named Flute after a 19th-century flute maker on Broadwick Street – is an example of how Brudnizki played with multiple colours and patterns to create a space that he describes as combining “cocooned comfort with maximalist glamour”.

Here, saturated green and pink pastel colours contrast gleaming marble and brass details, while contemporary art decorates the walls.

Reading area in Broadwick Soho — The Nook has a cosy reading area

The overall aim of the project was to create a hotel that would suit the context and history of Soho.

“We were conscious of ensuring that what we were designing felt authentic and true to the Soho context and neighbourhood,” Brudnizki concluded.

“It has such a strong and important cultural history, we were conscious we needed to draw this out and bring it to the forefront of our design concept.”

Previous London projects designed by Brudnizki, who was one of the judges for Dezeen Awards 2023, include a mythology-informed restaurant and the redesign of members’ club Annabel’s.

The photography is by James McDonald.

Reference

Interior Design

6a Architects brings Soho sex shop windows to JW Anderson Milan store

By Zarkon Group,25/05/2023

British fashion brand JW Anderson has opened a flagship store in Milan that was designed by British studio 6a Architects and draws on the local atmosphere as well as Soho sex shops.

The 53 square-metre-store is located on the Via Sant’Andrea luxury shopping street in Milan’s Quadrilatero shopping district. It is set across a single floor and comprises two rooms.

While the boutique primarily draws reference from its “bourgeoise” Milanese surroundings, the retail space also pulls from designer Jonathan Anderson’s first JW Anderson store in Soho and from the 2017 exhibition Disobedient Bodies, which was curated by him.

It was designed by 6a Architects, who Anderson began working with in 2017 after selecting the studio to design the set for Disobedient Bodies at The Hepworth Wakefield.

Interior photo of the JW Anderson store — It draws on a Milanese atmosphere

“I thought [6a Architects] really grasped how to take my visual language and turn it into something which was able to be educational,” Anderson told Dezeen.

“They’re very good at hybrid, old or new. They’re very good at this combination, they’re great architects.”

“The store actually is a combination of Disobedient Bodies and a store. It’s a little bit more elevated,” he said. “The front of the building feels Soho, and as you go in, it feels more kind of domestic Milanese.”

Interior photo of the JW Anderson store in Milan — It carries over elements from the Soho store

In a nod to the store frontages of the sex shops found in London’s Soho area, the windows of the Milanese store were decorated with neon lighting and rainbow-slatted curtains.

Anderson and 6a Architects used the design as a juxtaposition against the more typical Milanese interior.

“For me, there is something very sexual about neon lighting,” said Anderson. “I think we associate it with grand gestures and I felt like a window is kind of like a television set. There’s something with neon that it does, it kind of tricks you.”

Photo of the JW Anderson store — Traditional Italian furnishings and finishes fill the interior

“There are little alleyways and they have all these amazing sex stores on and these curtains,” Anderson continued.

“I liked the idea that we have this in Milan and then suddenly you enter into a kind of Milanese setting, something which is very bourgeoise.”

Inside, gridded handmade terrazzo covers the floor and visually divides areas of the interior through bespoke contrasting tones of grey and sand.

Brassy, metallic curtains ripple along the rear walls of the store, in a similar way to 6a Architects’ use of curtains in the exhibition design for Disobedient Bodies.

Photo of artworks at the store — Jonathan Anderson selected furniture and artwork for the interior

Aluminium scaffolding, which was also carried over from Anderson’s Soho store, was translated into display shelving and brought an “angst” to the interior that contrasts against traditional Italian furnishings, such as fluted walnut panelling that envelops two curved walls.

“There is something slightly more underground in terms of the construction of a JW Anderson store, whereas, I think Loewe [for which Anderson is creative director] is about a heightened perfection,” said Anderson. “With JW Anderson, there’s always a bit of slight angst to it.”

“It’s softer inside, and then you have this harshness with the windows where there’s neons and sex curtains and it’s kind of like a theatre. It has moveable parts and in a weird way the store becomes a giant window.”

Photo of the store — It has furniture by Mac Collins

Furniture and artworks personally selected by Anderson fill the interior.

Designer Mac Collins’ black Iklwa chair was paired with matching side tables, while a Cardinal Hat pendant light by Lutyens Furniture is suspended from the ceiling of the main space.

Oil paintings by Chinese artist Hongyan appear to float on the ripples of the brass-coloured curtains, and images by photographer Wolfgang Tillmans sit on the walls of the store’s fitting room.

Photo of the fitting room — An image by Wolfgang Tillmans is placed in the fitting room

“I don’t believe that stores should be completely cookie-cutter,” said Anderson. “I feel like the key is to make sure that each store has a different universe because there’s no point in having something which is just a duplication, duplication, duplication.”

Jonathan Anderson founded his eponymous label JW Anderson in 2008 and was appointed creative director of Spanish luxury house Loewe in 2014, which recently announced the winner of its sixth annual craft prize.

During London Fashion Week, JW Anderson presented a “parallel world of people trapped in their computers” for its Spring Summer 2023 collection.

The photography is by DePasquale+Maffini, courtesy of JW Anderson.

Reference

Interior Design

Khaite flagship store designed as a “tribute to the cultural legacy of SoHo”

By Zarkon Group,23/03/2023

American fashion brand Khaite has opened its flagship store in SoHo, New York City – a cement-trowelled and steel-lined interior with an evergreen tree planted into its shop floor.

The store was designed by Khaite‘s founder and creative director, Catherine Holstein and her husband New York-based architect, Griffin Frazen.

It occupies a Corinthian column-fronted building in SoHo, capped with Italianate cast-iron modillion cornices, designed by German architect Henry Fernbach in 1871.

Holstein and Frazen wanted to encapsulate the cultural legacy of the SoHo location with the area’s connection to the founding of the brand.

Interior of the Khaite store — It was designed by Khaite’s founder and her husband

“Every element of KHAITE is shaped by New York, and we set out to make this space a tribute to the cultural legacy of SoHo,” said Holstein.

“When I moved to New York twenty years ago, this block of Mercer was my entry point to the city, and SoHo is where KHAITE was born. Our first design studio was just down the street.”

Interior image of the Khaite store in SoHo — The couple looked to encapsulate the legacy of its location

The entire 371 square metre ground floor of the store was dedicated to retail space while the building’s basement was reserved for back-of-house workings as well as a private meeting area.

Holstein and Frazen’s approach saw the store clad in city-characterising materials such as steel, glass, poured concrete, troweled cement and plaster, which bring an industrial and monolithic look to the space.

Photo of the Khaite store — Cement, concrete and steel were used throughout the store

Four curving steel partition walls meander through the length of the retail space and are used to conceal and frame Khaite’s ready-to-wear collections that are displayed on curved display rails.

The four steel walls are visually separated by a channel of light from one of two skylights at the rear of the store that was exposed during its renovation.

A focal feature of the store is an evergreen Bucida Buceras tree, which was named the Shady Lady and planted into the floor beneath the rear skylight.

As light enters and flows into the space from the skylights the rough and textural quality of the cement-trowelled walls is revealed.

Photo of the interior of the Khaite store — Skylights were uncovered during its renovation

“The design was conceived in terms of material – choosing the right materials and working with them in the right way to satisfy the programmatic requirements,” said Frazen.

“We leaned into elemental qualities like natural light, preserving the scale and openness while creating intimate spaces.”

Photo of a tree in the store — A tree was planted into the floor of the store

“We embrace the change of materials like steel and concrete just as you would leather and cashmere, honoring them by allowing them to wear in gracefully,” said Frazen.

“Each piece has unique textures, and rather than polishing away or painting over them, we preserved imperfection.”

Photo of the concrete store — It has an industrial look

Three fitting rooms were designed to contrast the brutalist details of the store and were blanketed in a deep red, fitted with plush red carpeting and warm lighting.

Minimal furniture was placed throughout, such as a Sing Sing chair by Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata that sits beside a twisted, low-lying shelf used to display the brand’s accessories.

Interior image of a red fitting room — The basement contains back-of-house operations

Before opening to the public, the store was used as the setting for Khaite’s Autumn Winter 2023 show which was presented in February.

Nearby in SoHo, design agency Aruliden completed a store interior for fashion brand Jonathan Simkhai that incorporated cut-out shapes from Simkhai’s clothing into partitions and furniture.

Design firm Crosby Studios teamed up with AR technology company Zero10 to create a pop-up store also in SoHo that allows people to try on virtual clothes.

Reference

SoHo

Al-Jawad Pike creates marble store for APL in NYC

Kith Women Flagship in Soho combines walnut and pink marble

Martin Brudnizki draws on “gritty glamour” for Broadwick Soho hotel

6a Architects brings Soho sex shop windows to JW Anderson Milan store

Khaite flagship store designed as a “tribute to the cultural legacy of SoHo”

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