designing desire

According to the article "High Architecture" by Daniel Herman in Harvard Design School's Guide to Shopping, out of the 21 Pritzker prize winners to date (when the article was written), 7 of them had no projects dedicated to shopping at all. And half of the rest had only 1, including unbuilt schemes. And out of those, many often left those projects out of their monographs. So what is so undesirable about shopping to architects? And heaven forbid a project be called a "mall" -- it is always a festival marketplace, mixed-use complex, museum, design center, showroom.... it seems that "high architecture" still delivers very normative shopping spaces. Especially when it comes to department stores, the free plan is basically treated as a given, the core is always centrally located. And any true architectural innovation is implemented only in the building envelope, seeming to say that the space for shopping don't need to be modified, just packaged prettily.

But when it comes to flagships of designer brands, a whole list of partnerships start to emerge. Like the old Vitruvian motto: "firmitas, utilitas, venustas" (firmness, utility, delight), the role of an architect within retail design can endure its image, establish brand equity, and create desire.

A handful of examples:

Thomas Heatherwick for Harvey Nichols (London)
William Russell for Alexander McQueen (Milan)
Future Systems for Birmingham Selfridges
Klein Dytham for Undercover Lab (Tokyo)
Phillippe Starck for Maison Baccarat (Paris)
Found Associates for Kurt Geiger (London)
Yabu Pushelburg for Lane Crawford (HK)
Jun Aoki for Louis Vuitton (Omotesando)
Kazuyo Sejima+Ryue Nishizawa for Christian Dior
Future Systems for Commes des Garcons
Tadao Ando for Collezione minimal
Massimiliano Fuksas for Emporio Armani (NYC)
Herzog & de Meuron for Prada (Tokyo)
Rem Koolhaas for Prada (NYC & LA)
Renzo Piano for Maison Hermes (Tokyo)
Richard Gluckman for Helmut Lang

It is the transfer of an identity through design that is able to fully fuse the brand's "statement" with that of the "experience". Thus, the impression is that the source of authenticity has been fully maintained (a key component to luxury), as the consumer partakes in this myth through the act of shopping. Like places of deity and treasury, the myths created are reinforced and sustained through the forms of the building. To be successful in designing spaces that create desire, there must be engagement, stimulation, and a balance of novelty with repetition.