The Saint-Maximin stone inside. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G
20/12/2022.
[PAR] France
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
The new Acne Studios Flagship Store, opened in the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris corner to Rue d'Alger, in Paris centre, was designed by Spanish architecture practice Arquitectura-G. The rue Saint-Honoré is a street on which are located a number of museums and upscale boutiques, is near the Jardin des Tuileries and the Saint-Honoré market, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
The Swedish brand is immersed in a visibility process, after having grown as a luxury "conceptual" clothing brand, opening reference stores in most commercial streets of key cities.
The store, whose premises had already been used by other luxury brands, occupies the corner of a building erected in 1860, in the midst of a transformation period after the openings and reforms carried out in the city by Georges-Eugène Haussmann.
Its exterior, which had already been previously transformed and used by other luxury brands, is characterized by the use of a typical Saint-Maximin stone cladding used throughout the city.
The Swedish brand is immersed in a visibility process, after having grown as a luxury "conceptual" clothing brand, opening reference stores in most commercial streets of key cities.
The store, whose premises had already been used by other luxury brands, occupies the corner of a building erected in 1860, in the midst of a transformation period after the openings and reforms carried out in the city by Georges-Eugène Haussmann.
Its exterior, which had already been previously transformed and used by other luxury brands, is characterized by the use of a typical Saint-Maximin stone cladding used throughout the city.
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux
Model. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
Model. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
Ground floor plan. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
Mezzanine floor plan. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
Section. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
Model. Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G.
After cleaning the stone from the outside, Arquitectura-G decided to introduce the same stone, inside, of 385 square meters, made up of two floors: the commercial ground floor with a reasonably high ceiling height, and the second or mezzanine, traditionally used as a warehouse or home for the owners, with a minimum ceiling height of 2.05 meters. Previously, the two floors were connected by a single staircase.
The connection between the two floors is made through a single staircase that improves its spatiality with the decision to demolish part of the slab inwards. The decision allows a large interior opening that provides greater visual amplitude and allows spatial continuity.
Towards the exterior, continuity has been given, from top to bottom, to all the shop windows, giving the sensation of exterior continuity in the interior.
Arquitectura-G previously designed the Nagoya store in Japan (opened in 2019) or the one in Stockholm, Sweden (in 2020), the headquarters of an old bank from the 1970s, inside which, after the robbery in 1973, the well-known term "Stockholm Syndrome" was forged.
The connection between the two floors is made through a single staircase that improves its spatiality with the decision to demolish part of the slab inwards. The decision allows a large interior opening that provides greater visual amplitude and allows spatial continuity.
Towards the exterior, continuity has been given, from top to bottom, to all the shop windows, giving the sensation of exterior continuity in the interior.
Arquitectura-G previously designed the Nagoya store in Japan (opened in 2019) or the one in Stockholm, Sweden (in 2020), the headquarters of an old bank from the 1970s, inside which, after the robbery in 1973, the well-known term "Stockholm Syndrome" was forged.
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux.
Acne Studios Flagship Store in Paris by Arquitectura-G. Photograph by Maxime Delvaux.
Project description by Arquitectura-G
This branch of Acne Studios is located on Rue Saint-Honoré, in the lower part of a corner building. Inside, it has the typical structure of an artisan’s workshop house: the ground floor has reasonably high ceilings, while there is also a mezzanine-type space with a minimum ceiling height of 2.05 metres, where the family lived. Previously, the two floors were connected by a single staircase.
As a strategic decision, the intermediate floor structure was partially demolished, thereby creating a large opening that runs the length of the store. It eventually leads to the staircase that joins the two floors, and it frees up both of them; the mezzanine ceiling thus becomes the whole store’s ceiling. Also, the project seeks to forge a certain material continuity with the rest of the city: the Saint-Maximin stone used here, from a nearby quarry, is ubiquitous in Paris, and it has been used for everything from unremarkable residential buildings to the city’s most iconic monuments. The store’s façade was also covered with this stone, and it extends into the shop and creates a bold monolithic ambience since all the space is constructed in this one single material. The columns next to the new overhead opening are now two floors high, and they loom over the space almost like imposing urban infrastructure. The floor-to-ceiling windows, simple panes of glass slotted between the interior and exterior stonework, open the store out and into the city, thus sparking up a dialogue between the two.
More information
Architects
Arquitectura-G. Architects.- Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes and Igor Urdampilleta.
Collaborators
Lighting.- Benoit Lalloz.
Furniture.- Max Lamb.
Furniture.- Max Lamb.
Client
Area
385m².
Dates
Design and construction years.- 2021-2022.
Location
219 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, France.
Photography
Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes, Igor Urdampilleta. Arquitectura-G
Arquitectura-G is a studio of architecture founded in 2006 based in Barcelona, by Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes and Igor Urdampilleta, mainly dedicated to construction and teaching. They understand their work as a team, where individualities are dissolved in an addition of ways of doing. Material aspect is fundamental for the them, seing it as a field of research. Currently the office includes small projects and starts a new stage to approach larger projects.
In 2008 created ESCRITOS-G as learning tool and to improve the business, with the desire to create a critical discourse and trigger discussion about contemporary architecture. It is a serie of conversations about architecture held between members of ARCHITECTURE-G, the philosopher Ekhi Lopetegi and several young architects whose work has sparked interest in the profession, society and the media.
In 2011 launched INDOORS a section focused on reformulation and internal reorganization of urban housing adapted to living contemporary culture.
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