By EONSLD
While most retailers working with an existing structure would be asking themselves how to fill it, Tamburins took a different approach, leaving the bare bones just that: bare. The surprising result – an empty framework above ground and a retail space below ground – secured the 551-sq-m Seoul flagship the top spot in its category. Eonsld and The System Lab employed what they call a ‘deconstructive approach’ to design the immersive experience for the beauty and skincare brand, which shares the same parent company as experiential retail superstar Gentle Monster. ‘As always with Gentle Monster-affiliated brands, Tamburins’ deconstructive contrast between raw and polished design perfectly captures the unexpected, the evocative and the experiential,’ said jury member Torquil McIntosh, cofounder of Sybarite.
Strong attention was paid to lighting the space properly, to ensure that the underground space felt open and inviting – a consideration that gained the project a second FRAME Award for the Best Use of Light. ‘It’s a great metaphor and expression of visual impact,’ said jury member Christopher Lye, principal and Hong Kong retail sector leader at Woods Bagot. ‘The concept of a volume within a volume is successfully represented between the framework and the store.’ John Naranjo, associate principal and creative director at Arcadis Inc. Miami, was particularly intrigued by the use of the open framework structure, which he believes draws attention to the inner glass-enclosed space. In his words, it’s a design that ‘sparks curiosity’.
