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“The eye-catching symmetrical abstract patterns draw passers-by inside, walking through a gateway to a unique customer experience in a magical colour changing theatre of shoes”
After 15 years it was time to reinvent the iconic existing store. Post internet-shopping, experiences matter, when shoes can be viewed digitally across so many platforms, seeing them ‘in the flesh’ and trying them on becomes a unique encounter.
The new design emphasizes the physical products, creating extended display space and a shopping experience that beautifully frames them. The visitors encounter a continuously evolving atmosphere and colour palette in this fresh and beautiful space.
The concept is based on a unique customer experience
The PC Hooftstraat is Amsterdam’s ritziest shopping area and the store is the only one with no shop window. Here started the calculated intervention of the architects by placing all the attention on the amazing entrance. The striking three-coloured natural stone shopfront quickly captivates shoppers. Its eye-catching mirrored patterns draw passers-by inside, walking through the symmetrical abstract forms that become a gateway.
At first sight, you are surrounded by the appealing and classy atmosphere of a store with beautifully displayed shoes. Then, when they move around, they notice the background changing, constantly throwing fresh focus onto the all-important product: the high end footwear. The shelves seem to float, thanks to a design featuring matt and transparent elements that adjoin the wall.
Delicate louvres, coloured gold as you walk in, anthracite when you turn around, achieve this subtle colour-change effect. The louvres were created from aluminium strips, gold on one side and anthracite on the other, placed on the white patterned wall and ceiling. The customer experiences the sophisticated colour gradient in an almost subliminal way through the space towards the glass display case at the rear of the store, which with its geometric mirrored pattern reveals the anthracite perspective of the space, using the end of the store as a ‘turning point’.
The interplay of light in the multi-coloured ceiling highlights the monumental display case for bags and accessories. An alternating pattern of reflective and luminous materials gives an extra spatial dimension. Yet you see much more than a symbiosis of three colours: the walls move with you and change with every step you take, coruscating somewhere at a point in the spectrum of light, dark and gold. The main goal was to ‘empower’ the shoes by creating an abstract seductive setting with a large area of display surface.
Placing them on translucent shelves allows them to take centre stage; the transparent detail where the shelves meet the wall makes the displays appear to float, adding a touch of magic. The store measures just 80 sqm, and the design takes a functional and rational approach in order to make the new interior more spacious than the old one.
Roberto Meyer is the founder and leading architect of MVSA Architects, founded in 1984. MVSA Architects, with over 60 employees, is a renowned and prize-winning international architecture and design firm, with offices in the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
The team consists of architects, interior architects, structural engineers, draftsmen, construction site advisors, project leaders, workspace consultants, sustainability experts, model makers and product designers. In this way an integrated approach is possible, as well as research, which is a natural part of the MVSA working process, embracing experimentation and innovation.
Photos courtesy Jeroen Musch
