Twenty-two-foot-high glass panels, a kinetic mirror installation, and a reflective interior ceiling make this clothing store—located on the fifth floor of a parking garage designed by Herzog & de Meuron—seem to hover. Pedestrians have clear views into the boutique, which is perched on the edge of the floor plate and visible from the street below, helping to draw curious clientele up to the store and to the merchandise they see reflected above.
Jury: “The design is respectful of the site’s architecture but manages to shed the trappings of the conventional store by making its presence known in a subtly elegant and sophisticated manner.”
Client: “The most common reaction [to the store] is that it is quite a surreal environment for retail and is truly one of a kind. This was a priceless design that we now see couldn’t have been done any other way to … [capture] the true spirit and dream we were searching for.” —Roma Cohen, owner, Alchemist
