Claudio Pironi & Partners - Philipp Plein London Flagship Store
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Philipp Plein London Flagship Store

Claudio Pironi & Partners

Retail  /  Completed
Claudio Pironi & Partners
Claudio Pironi designs the new Philipp Plein London store, in the well known New Bond Street.
Developed on four floors, for a total of 420 square meters, the store results from the matching between the strong personality of the brand Philipp Plein and the deep design and compositional research realised by Claudio Pironi and Partners.
The design concept tailor made for Plein here is taken to the nth degree, with iconic elements like the crystal Swarosky skull, the hexagonal staircase, the “box in the box”furniture and the explosion of marble and lights.
Each floor is dedicated to a particular brand’s department.
Entering in the store, at the ground floor, a maxi skull fully covered with crystal Swarosky receives the “followers” as a worship icon, always dominating Philipp Plein’s boutique; from that point the guests can admire the accessory area, built inside “a box in the box”, where white marble for women and black marble for men live together, alternated by polished stainless steel and black iron, emphasizing all the accessories.
The space connector among all the retail area levels is the hexagonal staircase, an essential element for the clients who walk through the spaces using the staircase as a “vertical connector”.
The decision to realize an hexagonal staircase is strictly linked in making the structure form recognizable inside the brand communication system as it reminds the logo shape and to the necessity of creating something identifiable, an object that communicates daring inside a world class flagship store.
Moreover, the constraints of the existing building represented a significant structural challenge: this project involves 4 levels within a six store mixed use building in a central Conservation Area of London. A structural remodeling has been realized, replacing the defective structures with lightweight solution, like installing timber joints floors supported by steel beams. The previous small internal skylight not allowing direct access of natural light has been replaced with a new one centered above the new staircase and allowing direct sky sight transforming dated living space into a contemporary one through the use of light, materials and perspective.

Going downstairs through the staircase, the basement presents the men’s collection: the atmosphere created by the black marble creates continuity to the staircase and reflects the brand’s power.
Moving upstairs, at the first floor, the clients reach the arrival point of the staircase; a burst of light enhances the dresses and accessories of the women and kids’ areas. The skylight creates a focal point for all the space and the natural lights, completed by Murano glass chandeliers, shines reflected on the white marble and the golden brass, stopping to the fourth floor, where the store technological hearth is placed.
Last but not least, the main facade has been fully valorized through the installation of a new elegant black marble cladding at ground floor level.


The Staircase

The staircase stretch produces an unforgettable sign for the uniqueness of the hexagonal base approach that forces the attention points in correspondence to the geometrical vertexes. Indeed, there are really few examples of hexagonal base staircases, because of the difficulties that the project entails.
The inclined ceiling and the presence of a skylight reveal and highlight the geometric intricacy of the total space in an alluring game of lights and shadows.
From a technical point of view the challenge has been took on together with the engineer and the constructor, during the development of the project further obstacles came through and have been took on step by step always trying to respect the original project essence, creating amazement and wonder.
The hexagonal configuration of the staircase in plan and the constraints of the existing building within which it is located represented also a significant structural challenge.
The staircase serves basement, ground & first floor. In between each level, the staircase completes a full revolution. Each flight represents a third of the hexagonal staircase, with the cantilever landing and cantilever half landing completing the hexagonal shape.
The staircase comprises triple steel stringers, 100x50 thk, fabricated to follow the going and rise of the staircase to create the minimal overall structural depth.
The eccentricity of each flight spanning from landing to half landing had to be carefully taken into account in the design both for deflection and vibration as the steel structure is to be marble clad to all faces and complete with glass balustrades.
Due to the constraints of the existing building, there was no room to provide back span to the cantilever half landings. For this reason a hyperstatic system composed of torsion beams and columns mobilized in bending provides rigidity to the cantilevers support.The columns are located in the minimal structural zone of the rear wall finishes.

Credits

 London
 United Kingdom
 Philipp Plein
 12/2016
 405 mq
 Claudio Pironi, Valentina Corzani
 Angelica di Fabio, Matteo Domeniconi
 MonkeyDu (shoplifters), SD (General contractor)
 Pibamarmi (marble); Mirage (concrete stoneware); Erco Illuminazione (lighting system); Luce & Light (lights); Bencore (pannelli alveolari); Signoretto Lampadari (chandelier); Treemmemoquette (carpet); BaP stainless steel solutions GmbH (pouff, daybed e High Heel Monster); INTEX EDV-Software GmbH (software, hardware e monitor); Tyco (antitheft system); Premier Scent (scent diffuser); Bianchi Lecco (kids boiserie).
 Courtesy of Philipp Plein International

Curriculum

Claudio Pironi & Partners Studio is an interdisciplinary architecture and interior design firm, based in Italy, creating extraordinary experiences across the globe.
Founded in 1997 by Claudio Pironi, it provides the highest level on integrated services for luxury retail and high-end residential.
Our philosophy is to design spaces that translate the client vision into a sequence of emotions forged in materials and geometry, a tale made of uniqueness and poetry. Our tailored approach aims at creating an unique narrative for every project.
Claudio Pironi & Partners has already executed various projects in the most prestigious location in the world and has currently under progress a series of projects concerning houses, shops, big commercial areas, public places, exhibitions outfitting, hotels resorts.
Past and present clients include Philipp Plein, Casadei, Corneliani, Les Copains, Avenue Baku, Moscow Fashion Expo, Crocus Group.

http://www.studiopironi.com


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