|
Best of 2006 Awards
Longchamp - La Maison Unique
BEST OF 2006: Retail
Longchamp had a mission in the design of its 9,830-sq.-ft. Manhattan flagship store. The France-based handbag and pocketbook retailer owned by Jean Cassergrain aimed to reflect the innovative and stylish values of its high-end brand while at the same time steering away from traditional store design.
An innovative, steel-supported staircase that appears to float in place within a historic 1936 building helped the 11-month project achieve both goals.
“It’s outstanding,” one judge said.
The chain’s 100th retail store, which opened in May, is located on Spring St. in SoHo. The selection of a two-story landmark building required the company to obtain approvals from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The design keeps many of the building’s original details intact, such as the space’s high ceilings and multiple open areas, but also incorporates various features that upgrade and modernize it.
From the beginning, both the construction and design teams coordinated their schedules to ensure a high level of communication before and during construction because of various complex features. For example, the team had to demolish one side of the building without disturbing three neighboring high-end tenants, largely by scheduling potentially disruptive work during off hours.
Among various restoration efforts, the team preserved and restored brick walls and cast iron columns while replacing hardwood floors that replicated the look of the original flooring.
The team also designed and built a 1,700-sq.-ft. third floor above the existing building. A 60-ft.-high atrium topped with a glass skylight runs through the center of the building to draw customers up to the second and third floors. The general construction tasks resulted in $2.4 million worth of work, according to estimates included on New York City Department of Buildings filings.
The atrium and skylight also further the illusion of the store’s signature feature, the 55-ton, ribbon-like, steel staircase that appears to float in midair by obscuring visible supports.
The engineering team created a computer model of the staircase in order to run detailed structural tests. The model also helped to establish prices and make alterations as necessary.
The team assembled the stairs using 17 components weighing more than 10,000 lb. each. The stairs overall use 150 tons of steel as support.
For visual effect, the team opted to use 46 custom-made polycarbonate panels for the balustrade, rather than traditional glass, and cut them into various shapes and angles to allow light to reflect off of them in different ways.
Adding to the atmosphere created by the staircase, the design arranges steel shelves in an elliptical shape in order to create the illusion that merchandise placed on them is flowing from the ceiling.
“It’s not just the staircase,” another judge said. “It’s the way they express the vision throughout the entire environment.”
Key Players
Owner: Longchamp
Architect: Thomas Heatherwick; Atmosphere Design Group
Construction Manager: Shawmut Design and Construction
Structural Engineer: Building Structural Engineering Services
Structural Engineer for Staircase: Building Structural Engineering Services and Gilsanz Murray Steficek
Mechanical Engineer: O’Dea Lynch Abbatista
Lighting Design: Hillmann DiBernardo Leiter Castelli
Steel: Hillside Ironworks
Mechanical: Manhattan Mechanical
Plumbing: M&T Plumbing and Heating
Electric: Rockmore Electric |
print this page
e-mail this page
