New York studio SO-IL has finished a Manhattan showroom for Italian trend property Versace, featuring movable white displays and columns sheathed in mirrors (+ slideshow).
Encompassing five,000 square feet (465 square metres), the showroom is an extension of Versace’s headquarters in New York, which overlooks Central Park.
The showroom was developed for the show of the brand’s numerous fashion lines and for its wholesale operations. It is also utilised as a venue for meetings and collaborative operate sessions.
“The area was envisioned as a extremely versatile atmosphere that could be easily reconfigured to showcase the label’s several types, tones and material languages,” stated SO-IL.
The firm designed a series of movable display structures to break up the area and give adaptability.
“We considered of the movable components as ‘characters’ in area, each one possessing a unique form and language of movement,” stated firm spouse Ilias Papageorgiou.
The structures can be moved along brass tracks in the floor, to enable them to “glide and rotate through the space and constantly redefine the surroundings and knowledge”.
They can type intimate locations for private meetings or be arranged in a a lot more open fashion for exhibits and huge occasions.
The display objects are manufactured of large-density polyethylene panels – a durable, translucent plastic generally located in industrial applications.
The panels had been custom-developed and fabricated using personal computer numerical handle (CNC) milling and folding. There have been then assembled using thousands of brass screws.
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“The plastic’s subtle translucency is amplified by the altering daylight from three walls of windows, altering the general look of the room throughout the day and revealing the objects’ skeletal structure and assembly,” stated the company.
The ceiling is covered in extremely reflective PVC plastic, and columns are sheathed in mirrors.
The windows give views of the street and Central Park, while recessed and reflective window frames dematerialise the boundaries of the showroom.
“The experience is a kaleidoscope of multiplying views, colours and motion,” mentioned Papageorgiou. “Despite the fact that the area is located on the 20th floor of an office constructing, it produces a powerful awareness of the street daily life and park beneath.”
SO-IL mentioned its style for the area is similar in spirit to two other retail tasks by the firm in New York: a flagship store for Benetton, completed in 2012, and an atelier for Derek Lam, completed in 2009.
“The firm’s method to these spaces emphasises nimbleness, light and motion, making environments that fuel creativity and inspire sudden connections and relationships,” explained Papageorgiou.
“For Versace, each of one of the show objects has a unique sculptural type that belies its use, producing the showroom both functional and artful.”
Based in Brooklyn, SO-IL was founded in 2008 by Idenburg and Jing Liu, who met whilst operating at SANAA in Japan.
Other latest tasks by the studio contain the proposed Artes Amant art gallery in Brooklyn, the new Tina Kim Gallery in Manhattan, and an set up for the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial.
Photography by Andre Herrero.
Project credits:
Task staff: Florian Idenburg, Jing Liu, Ilias Papageorgiou,Ted Baab, Kerim Miskavi, Seunghyun Kang, Abigail Chang
Architect of Record: O’Neil Langan Architects
Fabrication of movable objects: Situ Studio
Floor plan – click for more substantial picture 
