WINNER
Creativity is Essential
by AMV BBDO, for Bacardi Bombay Sapphire
The creative industry and creatives themselves took a significant hit during the slew of lockdowns that have taken place over the past couple of years. Not only were the usual sources of artistic inspiration suddenly off-limits, but galleries were closed and revenue streams were shut off. Only spaces deemed essential were allowed to stay open. So, as a show of support for this community, and in line with its belief that creativity is also essential, Bombay Sapphire, with the help of AMV BBDO, turned The Design Museum into a supermarket.
This loophole in the restrictions allowed the London-based gallery to reopen its doors for a limited time and gave visitors the chance to support emerging creatives. A global selection of 10 artists collaborated with AMV BBDO to turn the essential items stocked within into artworks – all of which could then be purchased inside the pop-up supermarket or on the online shop for five days. These items included rice, loo roll, fruit, vegetables and, of course, bottles of Bombay Sapphire gin. The supermarket itself was given a bold and colourful aesthetic by renowned designer Camille Walala, providing the perfect space in which to showcase each of the artworks. The profit from all of the sales was then donated to the creative community, resulting in a support fund of over £100,000.
The judges said: “A unique proposition in the context of this category of the awards. The Supermarket makes an astute commentary on its distinct place in history, highlighting the relative values of consumerism and the arts in society.
Lee Yuen Housewares
by Studio X, for Lee Yuen Housewares
Lee Yuen Housewares is a leading kitchen equipment product developer that supplies big-name retailers such as Williams Sonoma and Whittard of Chelsea with premium cooking tools and gadgets. It boasts an extensive range of 5,000 products, all of which it showcases in its warehouse space in Hong Kong. In order to improve the utility of this space, it called upon local design firm Studio X.
The team at Studio X worked with Lee Yuen Housewares to develop a showroom that would allow buyers to gain an immersive understanding of the large product range. Using a mix of visual merchandising techniques, they created an exciting, emotive space that provides visitors with an effective way of browsing the offerings. Key products are displayed above indexed storage systems with pull-out drawers to house the rest of the range. The industrial-style showroom also includes a working kitchen, demo area, meeting rooms and a new product gallery.
Bally Haus Flagship Concept | New York Meatpacking District
by Seen Displays, for Bally
Seen Displays partnered with Swiss luxury fashion house Bally to design its new flagship concept store in New York. Situated within the city’s vibrant Meatpacking District, the store is surrounded by a rich contrast of past industrial trade heritage and contemporary culture. Seen Displays was tasked with bringing the look and feel of the local area into the store itself, providing a space that is a grounding force for both the post-pandemic luxury consumer and the local community.
Taking inspiration from the spatial divide of the neighbourhood, as well as the brickwork of its architectural past, the design features a contrast of light natural textures, earthy clay shades and a palette of warm terracotta tones. This contrast also references the nearby Gansevoort Hotel, whose unique alignment with the sun creates dramatic shadows and silhouettes. Functionally, the space is multi-purpose, featuring modular fixtures and furniture which allows it to play host to various events, and display a wide range of products. As well as a focus on Bally’s digital infrastructure, the store also embraces the brand’s circular vision by utilising unique compostable materials such as a new compound of micro-paper.
Bally Haus Flagship Concept | Regent Street Flagship
by Seen Displays, for Bally
Swiss luxury fashion house Bally teamed up with design agency Seen Displays to create the concept for its new store on Regent Street, which also houses the Bally Art Haus Exhibition series. Approaching the task in a straightforward fashion, Seen wanted to find a simple yet timeless solution, merging Bally’s commitment to art, architecture and craftsmanship, and honouring its heritage.
The team also wanted to draw inspiration from the city’s past, and chose to tell the story of London’s geological foundations and future innovations. This approach centres on the importance of London clay – from the bricks that built the city, to its subterranean foundations that gave the stability for the London Underground and the formation of the River Thames’ banks. Aligning with Bally’s circular vision, Seen also collaborated with local materialist James Shaw to create various design features from recycled plastics, and built an entrance table that can be easily resurfaced for future collaborations. The colour palette of the store was inspired by J.M.W. Turner’s paintings of the Swiss Alps – a nod to Bally’s roots.
Retail Interiors
shortlisted
Bridge
by Interstore | Schweitzer, for Migros Zurich
Working with Swiss retail giant Migros, Interstore | Schweitzer has designed a new food destination using its unique Flexstore™ model. Based in Zurich, Bridge boasts a unique flexible ‘lab’ format that facilitates experimentation with new food and drink concepts. Set across two levels and a 2000m2 area, the store aims to unite a diverse fresh food market with creative local partner catering and store events.
To create a working ‘agile store’ program, Interstore | Schweitzer employed a completely new approach to the store infrastructure, including an engineered solution providing all data, power, water, and waste from a flexible ceiling grid/water-loop system. This enabled 80% of the equipment to move around the store on wheels, including the self-checkout kiosks. Flexibility was also given to the surface materials, allowing for easy changes to be made to the visual identity. Aesthetically, Bridge was inspired by street art elements and exhibits an urban market feel.
Google Store
by Google
Google recently opened its first-ever physical store, located in New York City. Constructed at the entrance to its HQ, the Google Store is a new retail flagship created to represent the brand for all visitors. Driving its design vision was a commitment to make the store as sustainable as possible, down to the smallest detail. Having successfully achieved this goal, the building was awarded the highest possible sustainability certification in construction and design today: LEED Platinum.
Inside the store, Google has arranged the space around five main customer touchpoints – Attract, Browse, Experience, Support and Educate. These categories allow visitors to engage with the brand in a variety of ways. A key aspect of this is the Discovery Boxes, which line all of the window bays and feature still-life displays on the exterior and transparent LED screens interacting with products on the interior. Elsewhere, there is the Google Imagination Space that serves as an interactive digital space to celebrate Google’s other offerings such as Translate and Lens; three sandbox rooms that provide immersive environments for customers to dig deeper into product features, and a Here to Help centre where they can find support for any problems they may have.