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Mulberry’s
luxury leather goods have a new home on London’s New Bond Street.
The new flagship store is the result of Mulberry’s two year collaboration
with Universal Design Studio, which created an innovative, thoroughly
modern and dynamic retail environment that reflects the brand’s
aesthetic, its commitment to craft, ecological and ethical concerns
and its ties to the English landscape. The environmental concerns have
been addressed as an integral part of the design brief.
Mulberry has been working closely with Max Fordham, consulting engineers
who implemented energy efficient concepts into the new store design,
whilst dpa lighting design provided a lighting solution
which was mindful of energy saving criteria using highly efficient 35W
metal halide track and spot fittings for flexible product lighting throughout
the store.
The 5,400ft open plan retail space reflects many features of a modern
art gallery; juxtaposing informal, open spaces and daylight-simulating,
energy-conserving light boxes. The store also references the British
landscape and craftsmanship, incorporating an authentic Cotswolds dry
stone wall, British oak and leather shelving, sculptured oak and textured
brass 'follies' that break up the store into a series of mini-boutiques
to encourage customers to meander through the sections at their leisure.
Daylight-sensor controlled light boxes housing a combination of warm
and cool fluorescent lighting simulates a day lit sky, which is complemented
by uplighting from the dry stone wall to suggest a horizon.
To maximise the ability to reflect the change in pace of retail life,
the majority of the sculptured oak fixtures and textured brass ‘follies’
that break up the store space are freestanding and fully flexible, allowing
for the manipulation and reconfiguration of the internal architecture.
Integrated fluorescent and diffuse LED panels are discretely fitted
to the underside of shelves and the oak follies, illuminating the displayed
products, giving them a higher presence as though presented on a stage.
As well as being beautifully designed, the store can also boast an impressive
carbon footprint, using 50% less energy than any comparable store and
Universal Design Studio is expecting the store to receive a BREEAM rating
of ‘Excellent’, which is very unusual in retail.
The 50 New Bond Street store is the first flagship to feature this new
concept, with several International stores currently under construction.
Photos courtesy of Leon Chew & dpa lighting design.
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