"Within this area we were asked to clad the large columns in the centre of the store as well as the store fronts, which ran all down one side of the floor,” explained Kirstie Little, Lead Designer at Giles Miller for the project.
HMKM had proposed that the columns and shop fronts would be clad with a triangular mesh, as this was the overarching theme of the store. Giles Miller’s brief was to design a singular unit which would fit into the grid that represented the theme ‘spring flowers’.
“The singular units we designed could be arranged in a number of ways to create tone and texture, as well as becoming an abstract representation of spring flowers,” comments Kirstie. “The asymmetric design of these pieces meant that we could use them in a way to draw with tone, which is a common theme across the work of the studio.” Hexagonal-shaped flowers of varying tones and textures creep their way around the store fronts and columns like climbing ivy. These ‘flowers’ are surrounded by a dispersal of pieces to give the facades a softer, more organic feel.
Pigmented Jesmonite was selected for the installation in four pastel shades. “There were two types of the faceted ‘little gems’, one being convex and one being concave. This gave us the ability to add another layer of texture and tone by composing and combining the eight variations together,” explained Kirstie. She continues: “We chose Jesmonite for this project as the casting methods allowed us to create detailed shapes. The shapes can quite easily be transformed from a 3D CAD model, to 3D print, to a mouldable part. The material is also a great alternative to heavier materials, which made them much easier to manufacture and install. The other benefit was the ability to colour match very closely to the desired tones.”
As the overall theme of the store was mainly triangular and faceted, Giles Miller’s shapes, which of course were triangular but also faceted on their faces, help to complement the theme as well as adding an extra level of texture and intrigue to the columns and store fronts.
The installation spans over four large columns and 16 store fronts, which includes the likes of Mulberry, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo and Fendi amongst others. Giles Miller worked with HMKM to come up with the pastel palette which was used. “We wanted a selection of four colours which were soft and floral and all complemented each other, as well as having enough contrast to enhance the pattern,” commented Kirstie.
“When we arrived on site, the columns and shop fronts were clad with the triangular meshes,” explains Kirstie. “Back in the studio, we had designed a specific jig system which acted as a template for a predetermined pattern. We used this jig system to mark out the placement, as well as direction, of the pieces before we stuck them down, working our way around the store.” The Giles Miller team were on site for three days to stick down somewhere in the region of 20,000 pieces.
Some sections of the installation are produced from mirrored pieces and others from matt pieces, which was part of the overall scheme by the designers to give some contrast between the columns and the shop fronts. “This, we felt, was a great decision; the mirrored columns created a wonderful illusion and the subtle curves on the faces of the Corian store fronts are a lovely detail,” enthuses Kirstie.
“The overall design and the addition of our pieces gives customers a unique environment to shop in – the pieces reflect the beauty of the products on sale. The ‘vine-like’ composition of the pieces draw the customers around the store and into the various brands,” concluded Kirstie.