Our challenge with this project was to bring light and spaciousness to a very narrow 2 storeys space on Madison Avenue, with a storefront protected by the Landmark. We needed to change it dramatically, to work mainly on space perception, to make it feel different and unexpected: we then proposed to our client the removal of almost 2/3 of the 2nd floor sales area which allowed us to achieve a new ceiling height of 20 plus feet at the first floor main retail area. This not only created a one of a kind store experience on this strip of high end retail stores but also brought in a more urban context where streets are narrow, open to the sky above.

Our client fell in love with this rather drastic approach and allowed us to move forward. The Landmark storefront didn't feel narow and clustered anymore but suddenly appeared as a tall trasparent element connecting the store with the busy streets.

On the interior the airy retail space leads the customer back to the shoes area which is located under the mezzanine and defines the more intimate are of the store. Leading up to the mezzanine, the idea of a fully mirrored wall reflects the stair and the mezzanine volume giving the impression of a space twice as big and dramatic.