Camper House of Shoes

Year: 2013
Category: Commercial · Retail
Type: Commercial
Status: Built
Firm: Dean Maltz Architect
Location: New York, United States

The Camper Flagship Store is located in the Soho district of New York City, on the corner of Prince and Green Street, part of a Landmark Historic area. Designed by Shigeru Ban, the existing building has been transformed from three distinct stores into one 1200 square foot, street level retail space with storage space of equal area below. The building is adorned with a Shigeru Ban signature paper tube art construction, a triangular peak roof, which announces Camper’s ‘House of Shoes’. The façade is altered by removing existing bulkheads and windows between structural piers.

Floor to ceiling sliding glass doors inhabit the voids , create multiple openings and the opportunity for the wall to disappear. The store becomes totally connected to the street , activating the corner, and operating like an open market, a seamless connection of inside and outside, a critical component of Japanese design.On the interior, the Camper Brand- logo and colors - generate the integrated design intent. The shoe display, ceiling and floor design, emerge from the angled branded wall. Viewed from Prince Street, the red angled shelving unifies the CAMPER name, and conceals the display of shoes.

Viewed from Greene Street, the white angled shelving breaks the C A M P E R name to reveal the display of shoes. The 45 degree, angled shelving wall, is echoed in a red striped concrete floor and corrugated metal ceiling, of alternating red and white stripes. At the far end of the space, a mirrored wall reflects back the white elements, although one is looking directly at red elements. The store design is a single, unified idea; a spatial perception, which enlarges a small space and is the celebration of a brand.

Photographers: ©Michilli Inc., and ©Sanchez Y Montoro