New Saks Fifth Avenue Store, New York Retail Interior, Downtown Manhattan Shop Images

New Saks Fifth Avenue Store in New York

Contemporary Retail Interior Development in NY, USA Architecture design by Found Associates

Sep 12, 2016

New Saks Fifth Avenue Store

Design: Found Associates, London

Location: 5th Avenue, Downtown Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA

New Saks Fifth Avenue Store, Manhattan

Found, the award-winning London-based architectural design practice, has designed the new 85,000 sq. ft. Saks Fifth Avenue Store, located at Brookfield Place in downtown New York. The store opened to the public on 9th September 2016.

Director, Richard Found, has worked closely with Saks Fifth Avenue to create a landmark luxury retail destination, featuring a new visual language that unites all brands and departments. The design combines an impressive spatial arrangement, crisp detailing and understated palette with a series of dramatic elements, all referencing the brand’s heritage and reflecting its unique location.

The centrepiece of the design is a cylindrical tower, finished in white polished plaster, which fills a rotunda space that rises vertically over two levels and provides the store’s prominent frontage onto West and Liberty Street and the 9/11 Memorial. Radiating brass fins, forming a two storey ‘veil’, act as a secondary store front creating an eye catching kinetic spectacle at street level while providing glanced views in and out of the store.

Level One houses the beauty, fine jewellery, designer and handbag departments, featuring rose gold fixtures hanging off low level white Corian walls. Apothecary and Fragrance brands run around the perimeter within recesses finished in grey polished plaster. Brass hanging rails and 7ft high freestanding mirrored blocks sit alongside brass and grey felt display tables. Armchairs and sofas from HAY and coffee tables from Knoll are spread through the department.

Level Two features a 70ft long mirrored sunglasses display that leads customers to the shoe department, where a dynamic central area has been wrapped in mirror, with two large light installations and opulent upholstered seating. A honed white terrazzo floor has been installed throughout both levels, broken by areas of inset carpet within the store’s fitting rooms, all of which are completed with Kvadrat wall coverings and custom fixtures.

Saks are launching a number of services to cater to its new lower Manhattan clientele, for example, you can request a sprinter van and stylist to deliver fashion solutions to your doorstep within 30 minutes. Clients may also enjoy facilities such as the ‘one-hour Power Lunch’ where they can shop in a private dressing room, staffed by one of the store’s stylists and receive on-the-spot clothing alterations, completed by a 30-minute facial.

Richard Found, Director of Found, comments:

“This was an extremely exciting and innovative project to work on and Saks were very open-minded to a new approach. Service and experience are now the most important features to consider when designing a store to compete with the online landscape, so it was important to create a journey for the customers. Saks have considered many touches to make the experience more fluid and appealing for the customer. We have ensured that the architecture and design reflects the need to create a truly interactive and immersive retail experience.”