Client Giorgio Armani SpA. | Architect Fuksas Architects |
Executive Architect Nishimori Architects | Photographers Nakasa and Partners, Edmund Sumner, Ramon Pratt |
Project Team Keith Bradshaw, Jonathan Speirs | |
The concept of a bamboo forest with golden ‘stems’ and ‘leaves’, extends over the entirety of the 12-story façade, realised in the delicate use of light and silhouette. Appearing on the inside and outside of the building, the elements are balanced to appear as a single composition, with the leaves appearing to shimmer ‘in the wind’ under a golden light.
Light to the golden perimeter walls the space and provides a luxurious backdrop to the lit merchandise, highlighted by a custom slot system, detailed with cover plates such that all light is delivered through pin holes in the ceiling.
The leaf motif is used as a ceiling feature elsewhere, creating a focal point that suggests it is the main source of light in the Giorgio Armani store levels.
Golden mesh inlaid into glazed dividers, lit from above, creates the impression of floating fabric, which varies in apparent solidity depending on how the intensity of the light is adjusted.
The intimate restaurant and bar spaces again reprise the bamboo theme from the facade. The dappled golden light of a bamboo leaf is presented in micro perforated details and light patterns projected on to the floor in the restaurant and tables in the bar area.
The Emporio Armani brand, targeted toward a younger demographic, is lit with a high contrast, nightclub feel. Light behind polished black walls appears through fine slits and subtly dims and intensifies in a series of waves. This effect is multiplied by means of layers of reflection in the shiny surfaces.