Store interior design for the cosmetic brand Aesop.
Materials >
polished concrete, stucco plaster, reclaimed pine spurce log beam, vibrated aluminum, Asplenium nidus, Nephrolepis exaltata, Fatsia japonica, Hedera helix
Total area: 74 m²
Commercial area: 64 m²
Client: Aesop
Design: ciguë
© photo : Aesop
In line with both Aesop and Ciguë’s ways of approaching design, the inspiration behind the Edgehill store comes from its historical context, the investigation of local materials and engagement with local culture.
Whilst exploring the store’s surroundings, Ciguë came across a man whose mission is to save the last few remaining logs of what was America’s pioneers favorite wood: first growth pine. Although now protected from logging after it came close to extinction, the American continent used to be covered in its rich dense forests when the first foreign settlers arrived. Ciguë was drawn by the beauty of the pioneers’ axe marks against the raw trunks, capturing the intervention of man versus nature before the appearance of any kind of machinery.
Ciguë questioned the logs’ typical horizontal and structural function, deciding to use them vertically throughout the store. Hinting to another important part of the country’s past: the Native Americans and their totem poles. In line with that reflection, the wood and adobe winter shelters of the native tribes inspired the aesthetic and technique used to build the back of the store.
Overall, the juxtaposition of these different elements portrays a pivotal point in the history of America’s colonization: that of the crossroads between native and settling cultures, that of an interesting clash of cultures, worth remembering during these hard political times.
The final element to have influenced the contextual approach to the store’s design is the history of the store itself, as it once was a steam laundry company. As an echo to this part of history, and perfectly in line with the Aesop stores’ usual requirements, Ciguë designed large steel water basins, embedded like axes in the log totem poles.