Prada New York Epicenter : Architecture Information

Prada Store New York 2001 Rem Koolhaas Architect / OMA Location: 50 W57th Street New York Prada New York photo: Armin Linke, from OMA 270307 Contact Prada Store New York: 212 307 9300 Comments re Prada New York welcome Prada New York architects : Office for Metropolitan Architecture Prada New York Epicenter - Store Description The projects for the Italian fashion company Prada span from research on shopping and new concepts for Prada as a brand to the creation of three big stores in the United States. But beyond restructuring the physical reality of the brand, Prada’s virtual presence is simultaneously defined through extensive in-store technology projects and the creation of a website. The combination of these aspects generates an integrated service structure that enables Prada to provide a new sense of exclusivity, but also to reinforce the diverse and intriguing aura of the brand. Stores The stores are conceived as specific insertions both in relation to the brand and the network of existing 'green' Prada stores, as well as the city and cultural context they are situated in. In contrast to the concept of a classical ‘flagship store’ – the simple enlargement of a generic store, in other words more of the same – the new Prada ‘epicenters’ offer a diversification of the shopping experience: the commercial function is overlaid with a series of experiential and spatial typologies… clinic – an environment for specialized personal care and service; archive – an inventory of current and past collections, trading floor – an accumulation of rapidly changing information, new technology applications and e-commerce; library – zones of content and knowledge dedicated to the evolution of the fashion system; street – a space for multiple activities, liberated from the pressure to buy… At a time when commercial activity has invaded all public spaces and cultural institutions, this concept offers a redefinition of exclusivity: the possibility for public functions and programs to reclaim the territory of shopping… New York The New York project is an interior conversion of the former Guggenheim store in Soho [Broadway, Prince St, Mercer St]. The 23000 sqft are distributed between the ground floor and basement of the building. As a means to naturally connect to the large basement area and guide customers to the more invisible parts of the store, the floor steps downwards in its entire width and rises subsequently to re-connect to the ground level, creating a big ‘wave’. The oversized stair made of zebra wood is used as an informal display space, where people can try on shoes and browse through bags and other accessories. On the push of a button, an event platform rotates out of the opposite part of the wave, turning the stair into an auditorium for performances, film projections, and lectures. Large metal cages for merchandise and display are suspended from an overhead track system and create singular shopping addresses, like inverted buildings in a street – a ‘hanging city’. These display volumes can contract at the back of the store into a solid volume and free the space for public activities. A translucent wall of polycarbonate covers the existing brick wall of the building and establishes a dialogue between old and new. A mural of wallpaper on the entire length of the store allows for rapid change of the environment. Located at the Broadway entrance, a round and fully glazed elevator displays bags and accessories and gives the customer the possibility to shop while travelling vertically. It descends into a lounge located underneath the wave, where the main dressing rooms are visible from display mattresses covered in techno gel that give the possibility to sit and watch people dress. The black-and-white marble floor is a reference to the first Prada store in Milan; its reflection gets distorted through the curved mirrored ceiling of the space. The northern part of the basement holds the archive, ‘movable walls’, an adapted system of compact shelving that allows the sequence and size of spaces to be altered according to need. These Prada-green shelves contrast with the unfinished gypsum board walls and the wooden ceiling. With a separate entrance from Mercer Street, the all-white clinic area contains VIP rooms, tailors and catering facilities Ole Scheeren project director and lead designer Office for Metropolitan Architecture Prada New York Epicenter - Building Information Project: Prada New York Epicenter Status: Commission 2000. Completed 2001 Client: Prada (I.P.I. USA Corp.) Location: 575 Broadway, New York Site: Space of former Broadway Guggenheim, Ground Floor and Basement Program: New Epicenter store: 2.190m2 Partners-in-charge: Rem Koolhaas, Ole Scheeren Project Architects: Timothy Archambault, Eric Chang Team: Ergian Alberg, Amale Andraos, Benjamin Beckers, Christina Chang, Chris van Duijn, Alain Fouraux, Jenny Jones, Julia Lewis, Christiane Sauer, Markus Schaefer, Oliver von Spreckelsen Associate Architect: ARO Structure: Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA) Services: Arup New York Lighting: Kugler Tillotson Associates Material R&D: Panelite / Werkplaats Vincent de Rijk Acoustics: Shen Milsom & Wilke Curtains: Inside-Outside, Petra Blaisse Wall Paper: 2x4, Michael Rock Movable Furniture: Seufert Prada New York image / information from OMA 270307 New York Architecture New York shop : Giorgio Armani, Fifth Avenue picture courtesy of Studio Fuksas Prada Store, Tokyo by Herzog and de Meuron OMA Buildings in Manhattan 23 East 22nd Street Building One Madison Park