Image Credit : Nigel Young, Foster + Partners
Project Overview
Gabriela Hearst is a sustainable fashion brand with an uncompromising commitment to the environment that has created a pioneering model for ecologically responsible clothing and accessories. Foster + Partners has designed the New York-based label’s first London store, which is underpinned by a similar sustainable ethos and care for the environment in its materiality and operation.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Russel Hales
James White
Mike Holland
Stefan Bench
Nigel Dancey
Mikaela Psarra
Sotirios Stamatopoulos
Rosy Sturridge
Emilia Targonska
Dennis Teoh
Project Brief
Located on the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street, the two-storey store occupies a prime site in the heart of London’s West End. To preserve the transparency and unencumbered views of the interior, the store windows do not display mannequins or products but frame the interiors as two distinct settings – a clothing section that contains bespoke racks and relaxed lounge seating and another space featuring accessories and knitwear. The interior spaces are designed to flow seamlessly, creating a relaxed experience where the clothing and accessories are the primary protagonist.
Project Innovation/Need
The clothes rails, coffee table, knitwear cabinet and shelving units have also been designed by the practice and manufactured by Benchmark. They feature integrated LED lighting, vegetable tanned leather and accented with rose gold edging – a signature colour for Gabriela Hearst. The soft curves and warm materiality of the furniture pieces echo the comfortable and relaxed aesthetic of the entire interior.
Design Challenge
Consisting of a knitwear cabinet, clothes rails, coffee table, and shelving units, the range represents a family of furniture that expresses its structure and exudes a sense of warmth. The knitwear cabinet features a thin timber frame with glass panels on top and three sides, with three tiered drawers that can be pulled out to display more of the collection. The clothes rail is defined by a similar timber frame that almost dematerialises to highlight the clothes on display. The coffee table has a Carrara marble top, while the cantilevered timber shelving units have rounded corners with a soft leather inlay. Foster + Partners and Benchmark were given only 10 weeks to design and install the bespoke range of furniture. Time management was the key for this project to be completed for the September deadline.
Sustainability
The materials palette throughout the store comprises sustainably sourced or recycled elements and avoids the use of harmful chemicals in their production. The reclaimed oakwood floor was sourced from military barracks in Shropshire and the fabric wall panelling is made from linen, which is low in embodied energy. The majority of the furniture is made from London Plane timber sourced from a tree that fell during a storm in Lincoln.
Interior Design - Retail
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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