The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS
20/02/2023.
[LON] UK
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
German studio Gonzalez Haase AAS has completed, at the beginning of this year 2023, a project to convert one of the many stores of the 66° North brand into a context reminiscent of the Icelandic climate and environment. The store located in the London capital now enjoys a layout and scenography that transports its customers to Iceland without having to take a plane.
The concepts used by the studio to define the project combine dualities, hybridising the static and the movement, the unalterable permanence of the island and the ever-changing climate. A duality is repeated in the reference to the colours black and white whose union, in different gradients, form a grey that unifies, that stabilizes the different colours defined in the store.
The concepts used by the studio to define the project combine dualities, hybridising the static and the movement, the unalterable permanence of the island and the ever-changing climate. A duality is repeated in the reference to the colours black and white whose union, in different gradients, form a grey that unifies, that stabilizes the different colours defined in the store.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
Site plan. The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS.
Through the use of sustainable materials, Gonzalez Haase AAS seek to link specific sensations with natural elements; curved and grey walls made with local materials such as pigmented Cornish clay, islands of rammed earth whose layers are achieved with different sizes of aggregates and types of lava rock, and objects that try to imitate earth and magma.
The curved walls are monumental and simple. The entrance wall is 18 meters long. The perspective plays with lighting and white colours to give a dramatic, soft and undulating feeling. Textures are part of the experience, without limiting it solely to the visual. Around the scenery, there are partitions and mirrors as a way of connection, division and separation. The mesh on the roof simulates the white sky and misty lights, which take advantage of the brightness and light to simulate different climates of Icelandic nature.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
The curved walls are monumental and simple. The entrance wall is 18 meters long. The perspective plays with lighting and white colours to give a dramatic, soft and undulating feeling. Textures are part of the experience, without limiting it solely to the visual. Around the scenery, there are partitions and mirrors as a way of connection, division and separation. The mesh on the roof simulates the white sky and misty lights, which take advantage of the brightness and light to simulate different climates of Icelandic nature.
The essence of Iceland inside the 66° NORTH store by Gonzalez Haase AAS. Photograph by Thomas Meyer.
Description of project by Gonzalez Haase AAS
The holistic concept of the project revolves around the ethos and ideals of Iceland. We wanted to capture the essence of Iceland without being stereotypical. The weather in Iceland is a very real and prominent feature in the land and we classified this as static (the island) and forever changing (the weather). These dynamic changes are what we wanted to capture in the project. The static island of Iceland stands still in comparison to the constantly evolving and adapting weather but this influences the perception of the island. We are interested in this nuance. We look at the bi-chrome from black to white as movements of the weather. The immaterial, movement, changing, blurry and informal. As we started to analyse the colours of the weather and its effects on the island, we found there is always a darker and lighter grey, the bi-chrome. These non-static elements are always different. Therefore the grey is connected to the principal of the store and the newly added colour as an evolution. Each colour is an aspect of the islands. Each colour can be a new store, with a new material.
- We used natural sustainable materials to create the specific look and feel. The grey curved walls are locally sourced natural pigmented clay from Cornwall, UK.
- The rammed earth islands are cast with different-sized aggregates and various types of lava rocks to compose the layered effect. Specially crafted and sculpted by an artist/sculptor from Berlin. The earth itself is pigmented aggregate and sand.
- The rammed earth islands themselves are earth and magma-looking objects that look like they have been carved from the earth.
- The curved walls are monumental and simple. Walls can be higher and lower depending on their position as this frames the view. The clay’s rustic texture adds a layer of tactility to the space and brings out the feel of the clothing.
- These curved walls create different perspectives and atmospheres. They sit in front of the existing white walls to create a dramatic foreground of rolling soft curves.
- The wall at the entrance is almost 18 metres long and slightly curved. This long curve creates a new perspective and plays with the light in different shades. Already as you enter your perception is transported into this experiential tactile world.
- The idea of screens and mirrors is to insert them between two walls. In between the walls they act as a connection, division and separation.
- The custom-made bespoke ceiling mesh glows like the misty white sky that casts lights and mysticism on the rest of the space below. With the mesh at the ceiling we achieve a bright, glowing light which supports the multiple varieties of the weather and scenes in Icelandic nature. The technical equipment is hidden on top of it.
- The flow of the space using these curved walls guides and moves the customers through the space in a playful discovery. Here the space unfolds to the customer as they move further within the space.
More information
Architects
Dates
11/01/2023.
Location
505 66° North, London. United Kingdom.
Photography
Pierre Jorge Gonzalez, Judith Haase. Gonzalez Haase AAS
Gonzalez Haase AAS is a studio that focuses mainly on architecture, scenography and lighting, founded by Pierre Jorge Gonzalez and Judith Haase in 1999. Early work with Richard Gluckman and Robert Wilson for the Watermill Center in New York in 1996, where they participated in their renovation, it became the first highly regarded projects with contemporary artists, curators and collectors. They headquarters are currently in Berlin.
Keepping the interaction between light and architecture, they are highly recognized for their spatial concepts. When they opened their studio, they already had a resume in set and exhibition design. His work includes major artwork installations, luxury retail interiors, residential extensions, and conversions for art-related and industrial spaces.
Keepping the interaction between light and architecture, they are highly recognized for their spatial concepts. When they opened their studio, they already had a resume in set and exhibition design. His work includes major artwork installations, luxury retail interiors, residential extensions, and conversions for art-related and industrial spaces.
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