Take a peek inside some of the new and renovated spaces — from showrooms and a flagship store to design studios and event venues — opened by five manufacturers this past season.
Artemide, Chicago
The Italian lighting brand just opened a new Chicago flagship store designed by architecture firm Studio de Bevilacqua. Situated only steps away from the Merchandise Mart, the 2,800-square-foot space retains some of the original details of the industrial building — such as exposed brick walls and wood ceiling beams — while adding some interior walls to create a natural flow without enclosing any spaces.
Photos by William Zbaren Photography.
A suspended ceiling and the new walls enable Artemide to display the full range of product offerings, from iconic to new fixtures, for passersby to behold through the oversized storefront windows.
Photos by William Zbaren Photography.
Haworth, Los Angeles
A longtime collaborator of contract furniture giant Haworth, Perkins+Will designed the company’s new Los Angeles showroom (also shown at top), which opened in August. But the bigger news is that this is the first showroom in North America ever designed to the WELL Building Standard (which is centered on human health and wellness, based on medical research).
Photos by Eric Laignel.
Steven South, senior project designer and senior associate with Perkins+Will, explains that this showroom serving all of Southern California is “also of national and global significance as a proving ground for evidence-based ideas in the healthiest building techniques available.” The space enjoys 360-degree panoramic views, including of the Pacific Ocean and Hollywood Hills, while a living wall of succulent plants brings in a bit of the outdoors and requires minimal watering. Locally made materials inject some regionalism and context, as does a large graffiti-inspired wall, which evokes the area’s street-art scene. The project is currently gunning for LEED Gold certification, to boot.
Photos by Eric Laignel.
Cosentino City Center, New York City
The Spanish manufacturer of Dekton and Silestone brands crafted this showroom to be more of a space for designers and architects to meet with clients. In fact, there are no sales reps or transactions in this center. Slabs of product are on display to show what a full wall or countertop might look like, and a state-of-the-art kitchen enables the showroom to become an event space with demonstrations and catering. A nifty feature is the test lab area where any sample can be taken to be scratched, hit, and vandalized with permanent marker to show how easily cleanable and clearable Cosentino’s surfacing products are.
But the icing on the cake is an interactive kiosk: visitors can select specific characteristics (such as gray colors and Eco by Cosentino brand), which will activate the lighting to spotlight within the display walls only those samples that meet parameters. Additionally, the kiosk can pull up a visualizer on a flat screen to illustrate how the selection would look in different applications. Cosentino plans to open similar city centers in other metropolitan areas.
Henrybuilt, Mill Valley, Calif.
This American kitchen brand with operations in New York City and Seattle opened its first California showroom in the Bay Area back in July. The 4,000-square-foot space occupies a converted auto mechanic garage whose industrial backdrop perfectly complements the thoughtful, minimalist, and clean aesthetic of Henrybuilt’s kitchen and storage systems. Following notable projects in the region such as residences on Lake Tahoe and furniture commissions for Google and the French Laundry, Henrybuilt is poised to offer more to the Golden State with the opening of this third location.
Daltile Marazzi Design Studio, New York City
The two sister brands, along with a slew of local design professionals, gathered two weeks ago to celebrate the reopening of this Flatiron District showroom, which was newly revamped by Gensler. The 3,700-square-foot showroom has been transformed into a studio space with ample worktable areas throughout, allowing design teams or designers and their clients to meet and collaborate. But the expansive space is also well-suited to host events and support programs for local chapters of organizations such as the AIA, IDSA, IIDA, and ASID. In addition to full-size samples and vignettes, an LCD touchscreen helps visitors find the right tile or stone by flipping through digital catalogs and inspiration gallery albums as well as visualizing applications.
