Jil Sander
London, England
Gabellini Associates

Contemporary accents and restored elegance blend together in this classy destination

© Paul Warchol

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

This elegant store is located in a grand historic site, the former Royal Bank of Scotland building built in 1721 as a residence for the Earl of Darnley. Its double-height, sky-lit banking hall was a natural fit for the world of Jil Sander as a space for contemporary retail development. Its beautiful decorative detailing has been meticulously restored and complimented with a signature minimalist intervention, characteristic of the designer's sensibility. While the design is clearly an evolution of the original Jil Sander concept, for which Gabellini Associates has been involved since the inception of it first boutique in 1993, it exhibits the same elegance of materials, an innovative use of light, and meticulous detailing.

The former banking hall features three floating walls that divide the space into various product groups while subtly curving around existing Corinthian columns. The ornate coffered ceiling and walls have all been restored. The new collection walls feature metal halide uplights to create a modulated filtering of natural and artificial light. These spotlights are set into slender slot fixtures, recessed into the ceiling beams, while skylights in the circular domes emit an ambient glow.

The staircase to the showroom and VIP rooms on the second level features a dramatic domed coffered ceiling that has been highlighted with several light sources. Hidden light coves at the base of the dome provide a soft upward wash of light towards the light emanating from the skylight above, while a custom tubular fixture, extending ten meters down from the skylight to the ground level atrium, provides a shaft of light suspended within the atrium stair.

Formal name of Project:
Jil Sander London Flagship

Location:
London

Client:
Jil Sander AG
Osterfeldstrasse 32-34
Hamburg, Germany 22529
Tel : 011.49.40.55.3.020
Fax: 011.49.40.55.30.21.60

Design architect:
Gabellini Associates
665 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212.388.1700
Fax: 212.388.1808

Design Partners:
Michael Gabellini, AIA and Kimberly Sheppard, AIA