Stories On Design // Metallic Interiors.

Welcome to the first Story for 2017 in which I like to zoom into little moments in the complex World of Design & Architecture – be it an element of a building and/ or a space, a different way of looking at a preconceived idea, or to examine current memes and various influences shaping the world of design and our industry. And what better way to kick things off than with something beautiful, luminous and shiny like Metallic Interiors. Yum!

Metallic Madness has been creeping up on us for a number of years – at first in small doses (remember the days of ‘revolutionary’ brass and copper accents not that long ago?), eventually evolving and taking a firm hold of entire interiors, as seen in this carefully curated roundup.

These days designers are taking things to a whole new level by embracing Metals in new ways. Walls, stairs, ceilings, joinery, even textiles – nothing is spared in the new age Metallic Interior. Metal surfaces are popping up on epic scales, thereby giving interiors their own identity while allowing them to shine (yes, quite literally and figuratively speaking).

Not surprisingly, it’s retail interiors that appear to be hot on the heels of this Movement. This is a good thing – in my humble opinion, it is the job of retail interiors to lead the way, surprise, delight, push and experiment with new aesthetics, and engage our senses in ways no other spaces can, creating immersive environments, compelling us to get off our butts and our computers, and make our way into physical stores. (Says she who does 80% of her shopping online – guilty as charged. Sorry Westfield!)

Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the most compelling examples of Metallic Interiors right now ranging from Retail, Cultural & Commercial, Temporary Installations and Residential.

…shine bright like a diamond…

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

RETAIL.

Acne Store in Berlin.

Acne Store in Copenhagen.

Acne Store in Stockholm. All images courtesy of Christian Hallerod Design.

Acne Stores in Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm, designed by Christian Hallerod // There is a lot to love about these slick retail interiors. From the interior branding point of view, they are a study in perfection. Not only do they embody Acne’s painfully stylish aesthetic, each store speaks a consistent visual language while maintaining individual sense of identity. Characterised with pure geometric forms and a subtle colour palettes that literally make me squeal with excitement, these interiors have undeniable sculptural quality that appear as though they were derived from the art world. Reflective and translucent forms are offset with solid elements and heavy materials like stone and concrete. At first each space appears much simpler than it actually is. It’s only upon closer inspection that complexity of certain elements can be truly appreciated. Extreme love! Seriously.

See other Acne stores we’ve featured on Yellowtrace here.

Images courtesy of Acne Studios.

Acne’s Madison Avenue Store by Acne Studio + Max Lamb // And you thought we were done with Acne Studios for this post. Well, not quite. These guys are the masters of Metallic Interiors after all! Acne’s new global flagship store on the Upper East Side of Madison Ave in New York City features gold as its signature tone, with metal interior walls and fittings in aluminium that have been electrostatically gilded. A black asphalt floor and structural columns are dotted with semi-precious coloured stones. The space, entirely wrapped in glass to allow complete interior visibility, is designed to act as a gallery as well as a clothing store. The ceiling—a full lighting surface—creates a homogeneous light through the store. A golden aluminium partition divides the space between the public front and the private back area.

British designer Max Lamb has created new bronze furniture around his polycarbonate concept for the store, including a desk, benches and stools. Lamb also collaborated with Acne Studios to create custom rugs that sit like islands throughout the store. Yarns of different weights were hand-dyed in Lamb’s studio in London before being tufted at Kasthall in Sweden.

Image courtesy of Golran.

Golran’s New Carpet Showroom in Milan // Gorlan’s first flagship store opened on Via Pontaccio in the heart of Milan’s Brera district. The space was renovated by Storage Associati architects with brand art direction undertaken by Francesca Avossa. Ummm, how about that gold stair turning the corner and cheekily popping out from behind the narrow white opening? This is the case of The Ultimate Spatial Striptease – also known as T.U.S.S. (Well, ummm… not really, cause I totally just made that shit up.)

Saint Laurent Store in the Miami Design District.

Saint Laurent Store in Paris.

Saint Laurent Stores in Miami & Paris // Another serial Metallic Interior offender are the Saint Laurent‘s screaming hot retail interiors. The brands’ latest store in Miami Design District offers a complete vision of the brand and an original shopping experience that reflects Saint Laurent’s heritage and identity. The minimalist sophistication and iconic Art Deco materials echo the brand’s characteristic aesthetics: floors and walls in white statuary marble and black silk marble, structures in polished brass and extra clear glass, leather and nickel-plated brass benches, and suspended hanging rails.

Saint Laurent opened the doors to its flagship store in Paris in 2013, the first to be designed by Hedi Slimane since he became creative director of the fashion house the year before (their partnership sadly came to an end in March 2016).

Dion Lee Site 02 by Akin Creative. Photography by Sean Fennessy.

Dion Lee Site 06 by Akin Creative. Photography by Sean Fennessy.

Dion Lee Australian Stores by Akin Creative // Designed by a dead-set legend Kelvin Ho and his team and Akin Creative, Dion Lee retail stores focus on exposed elements, abstract navigation and materials that play on visual perception – think polished metal, LED lights and mirror surfaces. All the stores introduce the idea of luxury, which is carefully balanced with the raw, industrial and a side of attitude. Perfect.

Photography by Conny Mirbach.

Ace & Tate in Munich by Weiss-heiten // Distorted surfaces line of the Ace & Tate retail interior designed by Weiss—heiten play on the store’s theme: use your illusion. Looking to the rock gods of the ’90s, the concept is inspired by Guns N’ Roses’ two-part album released in 1991. By reflecting mirrors off one another and creating the illusion of a vanishing point, the designers manipulate viewers’ visual senses. Nice.

Images © Normann Copenhagen.

Normann Copenhagen’s Shiny New Flagship // Following a comprehensive renovation, Normann Copenhagen’s showroom space is a celebration of all things colour, texture and shine, topped with impeccable styling. Designed by Hans Hornemann and Normann Copenhagen’s Brand Manager, Britt Bonnesen, the brand’s new headquarters (formerly a cinema) is an experimental space. The interior features brushed steel walls, vibrant acrylic plinths, lively terrazzo surfaces and delicious colour combination that will make anyone’s heart beat faster. A conceptual and theatrical space, the showroom feels more like an art exhibition than a retail/ commercial showroom.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Cyrille Weiner.

Repossi Jewelry Flagship Store in Paris // Rem Koolhas’ led architecture firm OMA has designed the flagship store of high-end Italian jewellery brand Repossi, recently opened on place Vendôme in Paris. Visual drama is achieve by OMA’s signature use of exploring and mixing unconventional materials that allows for the store to synthesise architecture and display. Tinted mirrors and surfaces were developed, introducing contrasting degrees of reflections and colour refraction. At the heart of the scheme, the staircase in aluminium cladding folds over the volume and subtly expands onto each floor. So cool, it hurts.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Delfino Sisto Legnani + Marco Cappelletti.

OMA’s Restoration of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Landmark Building in Venice // As per exhibit A, the legends at OMA clearly love a good Metallic Interior (we feature 4 of their projects in this roundup alone!). This was one of their projects completed in 2016 – a radical transformation of the 16th Century Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice into a department store. The interior celebrates the building’s extraordinary heritage, with occasional shiny accents of golden brushed metal panels that sit so beautifully against the grain of the existing heritage fabric. Yum!

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Tom Blachford.

LIFEwithBIRD at The Strand Arcade, Sydney by Studio Wonder // Designed by Melbourne based Studio Wonder, this interior is the Sydney-sibling to the Chadstone-derived store concept. Here, gold details accentuate brightness and personality over a heritage frame. Light washes over raw materials and allows for brilliant merchandise exposure with just the right amount of bliiiing!

Images courtesy of External Reference.

24 Kilates Shoe Store in Bangkok by External Reference // This cheeky store design in Bangkok for Spanish footwear brand 24 Kilates features safety deposit boxes that function as display cabinets. The design team at External Reference chose gold as the primarily colour for the interior, creating the impression that everything in the shop is made of metal. Finally someone who understands how precious shoes really are ;)

Images courtesy of Dolce and Gabbana.

Dolce & Gabbana’s Tokyo, Aoyama Boutique by Gwenael Nicolas // Designed by French designer Gwenael Nicolas, this black and gold interior brings about a true sense of theatre achieved with a dramatic use of lighting and contrasts. While the majority of the interior is finished in matt-black, the large staircase and a small room for the brand’s fine jewellery collection feature gold-coloured walls and brass fittings – including a brass ceiling and a gold-toned carpet in the jewellery area – to contrast with the rest of the store.

Photography by Wang Min and Liu Yujie.

Heike Store in Hangzhou, China by An Design Studio // Designed by An Design Studio, the all-grey interior has a dystopian feel, with black steel Brutalist volumes designed to sit within the bare concrete shell of the space, creating new and interesting zones for clothing display, fitting rooms, storage and register. Dark timber, raw concrete, burnished steel and polished silver accents work in harmony to create a rough yet futuristic aesthetic. A tough and masculine interior at its finest.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

COMMERCIAL.

Images courtesy of Fondazione Prada.

Fondazione Prada in Milan by OMA // Ok, so this is not technically an interior, but can you blame me? You don’t see a gold building like this every day and it’s too good not to throw into the mix. After seven years in the making, Fondazione Prada – an exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art & culture – opened its doors in Milan in May 2015 to global acclaim. Housed in a complex that for many years functioned as a distillery, the 19,000sqm art space was redesigned by Prada’s long term collaborator Rem Koolhaas of Dutch architecture firm OMA. Delicious.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Adrien Williams.

Crew Offices and Cafe in Montreal by Henri Cleinge // This spectacular former bank in the historic centre of Montreal has been transformed into an office for a tech start-up and a cafe for freelance workers by Canadian architect Henri Cleinge. A series of internal rooms are constructed from pert-height partitions clad in bronze-plated steel, referencing the colour of the ornate detailing of the extraordinary existing ceiling. The luminous nature of the walls sit perfectly at ease inside the vast interior, gently reflecting the light and almost camouflaging themselves into the vast interior. Extreme love and cleverness.

Images courtesy of Space Encounters.

Sid Lee Office in Amsterdam by Space Encounters //International branding company Sid Lee commissioned Space Encounters to renovate, design and manage their new dutch headquarters in Amsterdam. The final space gives no clues as to the fact that this is an office. Not only are there no traditional workstations anywhere to be seen, a variety of carefully fabricated and charismatic spatial components provide anything but an office feeling, forming a joyful composition. I am personally quite partial to that stair-box clad in gold mirror. Waaah! So good!

Images courtesy of Lien Tran Interior Design.

BeCycle Fitness Studio Berlin by Lien Tran Interior Design // This boutique fitness studio is located in a former bank in Berlin’s happening Mitte neighbourhood. A hyper-modern brass structure allows the transition from a retail area into restrooms, the lockers and built-in water fountain. Retail spaces are cut into the metal structure to display fashion and sport accessories. The combination of existing materials like bricks and concrete, with new ones like brass, oak and marble, creates a sense of unity throughout the entire interior while defining each room in a unique way.

Photography by Tom Ferguson.

Cho Cho San Restaurant in Sydney by George Livissianis // The design of Sydney’s Cho Cho sun references a material palette consistent with contemporary Japanese architecture – think concrete, birch ply, white paint and brass highlights. The space, designed by George Livissianis, is infused with a Japanese sensibility & simplicity in detailing. So much love.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Xi-xun Deng.

Metal Hut in Beijing, China by Robot 3 Studio // Originally a ramen shop, this space has been adapted into a BBQ bar by Robot 3 Studio. With a limited budget and a poor location, the architects decided to play with the perspective, generating a contemporary and shiny space using cheap and cheerful materials. Galvanised steel plates and PVC curtains create a striking metallic hut that punches well above the budget.

Images courtesy of CLS Architetti.

Massimiliano Locatelli’s CLS Architetti Studio Inside a 16th Century Church in Milan // Massimiliano Locatelli was searching for a new home for his architecture firm when he came upon a glorious 16th Century church in Milan. A four-floor steel structure built in the rear section, houses the offices and it’s various planning areas. All this without affecting the original construction in any way. A steel staircase connects the floors crossing the entire length of the parallelepiped structure.

The steel structure is open on all sides, thereby allowing one to admire the frescoes from different levels. The entire project is made of natural black tubular steel, with cross-section repeated in different scales both in the construction of the load-bearing structure and in the furniture, such as the desks and bookcases designed for this space. FAR. OUT!

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

TEMPORARY INSTALLATIONS.

Photography by Agostino Osio.

 Miu Miu’s Spring Summer 2016 Catwalk by AMO // Miu Miu’s Paris fashion show, designed by Dutch studio AMO (the research arm of Dutch studio OMA) featured a “timeless ruin” covered in reflective materials sitting across the runway. Among the building’s rows of columns, AMO installed a giant structure that snaked through the space and was punctured with angled arches. Beginning at the grand staircase at one end of the room, the arches spanned back and forth across the space, covered in gold and silver-coloured foil finish.

Images courtesy of Formafantasma.

Sportmax SS16 Catwalk by Formafantasma // Amsterdam-based Formafantasma used lengths of translucent plastic to create “infinite loops” around the catwalk for fashion label Sportmax during 2016 Milan Fashion Week. Trails of PVC plastic in yellow, black and nude covered three sections of the narrow catwalk, zigzagging across the floor and the ceiling. The duo’s aim was to contrast the largely grey and stainless steel interior of the palazzo with bright colours and tactile materials, referencing Italian summer houses built in the 1960s and 1970s. Nice.

Image courtesy of Neiheiser & Valle. Photo by Naho Kubota.

Boffo Building Fashion 2013 in NYC, by Neiheiser & Valle + Linda Farrow // Designed by Linda Farrow + Office of Neiheiser & Valle, this temporary retail pop aimed to minimise architectural elements, while amplifying the spatial qualities essential to vision and illusion – deep space, radiance, and reflection. The only objects present were the Linda Farrow glasses, suspended against an undulating environment of rich material qualities – coarse piles of stone, gold displays, ethereal mirrors, polished marble, and crisp light.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

RESIDENTIAL.

Images courtesy of Studio David Thulstrup. Photography by Peter Krasilnikoff.

Peter’s House in Copenhagen by Studio David Thulstrup // What more can we say about Peter’s House by our friends at Studio David Thulstrup that hasn’t been said before? Exactly! Except that it features several moments of metallic brilliance, like that elusive shot of looking out through the mirror-clad central atrium. Visual layering at it’s best. And let’s not forget that off-the-charts kitchen wall clad in raw steel. ***Faints… Someone call an ambulance!***

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Images courtesy of Archier Studio.

SawMill House by Archier Studio in Yackandandah, Regional Victoria // Sawmill House by Archier is the sanctuary of sculptor Ben Gilbert and his family. The glowing brass wall that extends the length of the dwelling is something very special. Housing the kitchen and storage, there are also harmonious moments within each of the timber-lined niches. Wonderfully glowing and uniquely textured, the brass references the site’s history as a gold mine.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Simone Bossi.

Silvia Allori’s Home & Office in Florence // Architect Silvia Allori has overhauled a 1970s apartment in Florence into her own home and workspace, featuring furniture that folds down from the walls. That shiny gold curtain though – wowzer! Installed to hide the mess (yes!), the curtain was made from an isothermal emergency blanket found in a survival kit. Bloody genius!

[Image credits as noted.]