[button link=”https://www.arredanegozi.it/2019/10/studio-bower-progetto-showroom-gray-matters-new-york/” icon=”none” target=”” color=”a30b0b” textcolor=”ffffff”]TESTO ITALIANO[/button]
Located in Brooklyn, NY, the new showroom and office of sculptural shoe brand Gray Matters is designed by local architectural and design Studio Bower (known for their very cool and unique mirrors).
The 185 sqm appointment only location showcases the company’s new collection, as well as a variety of classic designs and best-sellers. The space also houses the Gray Matters studio, which is the home of design and operations for the brand.
The interior of the new space, as well as the mirrors, lighting and furniture pieces, is designed by Bower Studios.
As found in the Mildred shoe, the shape of an egg is a prominent feature, serving as a sculptural base for all of the desks. The matching color of the carpets unites these minimal elements. The showroom is wrapped with built-in benches and shelves, giving the space a feeling of weight and stability. The soft, curved lines of the shelving gently tuck into the wall to create a visual pattern of smoothed rectangles. Objects and surfaces featuring a soft, dusty blue hue signal a place of comfort and intend to invite the visitor to sit.
Elements with the leather color represent the sense of touch, whether with hands or with feet, and help the visitor navigate through the space. Bower chose a custom version of their Archway Mirror as the centerpiece.
Used in conjunction with the flowy, organically-shaped runway carpet, the mirror gives the dramatic illusion of an opening into an expansive, adjacent showroom space. An Orca Mirror placed near the rear windows also works in the same way, seemingly opening a porthole into another room.
GRAY MATTERS
Gray Matters is a collection of standout sculptural pieces: objects with a life of their own that enhance the character of women like no other. As in gray the color, Gray Matters is versatile and sophisticated, always adding subtle nuances, never imposing. Designer Silvia Avanzi is inspired by the artistic heritage of her native country Italy, along with the hectic lifestyle of her adoptive city New York. Silvia strongly believes in “less is more”: the elegance of clean shapes and subtle details made unique by a touch of quirkiness in the use of colour and tone. Gray Matters is made by three generations of expert shoemakers near Venice in Italy.
BOWER STUDIOS
Bower is a New York City based studio with a multidisciplinary approach to contemporary furniture and product design. With a focus on mirrors, they explore perceptions of depth, light and self. The company also offers unique collections of furniture, lighting and accessories, as well as artist collaborations, design partnerships and interior design. Bower explores pleasing ways to use bold geometry in their minimalist visual language, striving for a universality that can be understood and appreciated by all. Bower Studios is comprised of partners Danny Giannella, Tammer Hijazi and Jeffrey Renz. Bower was an honoree from Sight Unseen’s 2014 American Design Hot List.
Photos courtesy Charlie Schuck
by AN shopfitting magazine no.153 ©
