Page 63 - AIT0120_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Abruzzo Bodziak Architects, US-NYC
Foto: Rafael Gamo
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan
Bauherr • Client Hardy Blechman
Standort • Location 38 Lispenard Street, US-New York
Nutzfläche • Floor space 119 m 2
Fotos • Photos Naho Kubota, US-New York
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More information on page 134
MAHARISHI STORE
IN NEW YORK
To mark the 25 anniversary of the maharishi fashion
th
label, the first store outside London was opened in Tri-
beca, New York. The careful intervention made by
Abruzzo Bodziak Architects cleverly reflects the fa-
shion company's philosophy by imperceptibly weaving
the store design with the presented fashion products
in a multi-layered arrangement of space and materials.
A wooden jewellery chest with an embedded maharishi treasures
is placed in the existing two-storey loft as a second spatial vo-
lume with respect and some distance to the historical details, such
as the façade or the stucco ceiling. The newly inserted second level
extends to the middle of the ground floor area and creates a more in-
timate situation in the upper half of the room. Just like the fashion
label maharishi plays with contrasts, such as East/West or
nature/technology, the concept of the store opens up a spatial field
between inside or outside, below or above and old or new. Images
of old Japanese gardens, New York's historical department stores or
those serving the military appear before the mind's eye. The suppor-
ting wooden skeleton construction is painted olive green and covered
with untreated pine plywood panels. The surface and structure of the
panels refer to the reinterpretation of camouflage patterns for which
maharishi is known, among other things. Deeper down in the grid of
the shelf there is a mirror layer, which makes it possible to look at
the back of the fashion items without touching them. The innermost
and most variable layer are roller blinds that fit perfectly into the in-
dividual shelf compartments. The joining of the different materials is
subject to the uncompromising attitude of Abruzzo Bodziak Archi-
tects. As if on a theatre stage, the customer becomes part of a brand
staging. The inner curtain made of Japanese cotton, dyed through in
massive olive green, protects the holy shrines of the fashion label
from unwanted glances. When the last veil drops, the seduction is
complete. At this moment a trusting marriage between brand and
customer could have been entered into. In the marriage contract, the
common goals are laid down, which are: fair production conditions,
protection of the environment, sustainability, durability, use of high-
quality materials, suitability for everyday use and even a touch of ad-
venture. The successful partnership of the young duo Abruzzo Bod-
ziak in New York has existed since 2008 and promises to remain a
fruitful and productive relationship.
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