The American company Coach, which primarily produces luxury leather goods, cannot be compared in originality and intellectual depth to Prada, a regular customer and OMA partner. However, Coach's New York subsidiary has developed a sales floor concept for Coach that will be used in the brand's New York (2012) and Tokyo (2013) stores.
Since the brand's philosophy is based on offering the entire range of models in a series of basic colors, initially, in the 1940s. Coach stores resembled "libraries" with a clear organization of goods on the shelves behind the counters.
Over time, the company expanded the range and types of outlets, and this recognizable pattern has blurred, despite the idea that remained at the heart of the new collections. OMA has proposed an updated version of this "library". A visually permeable cube with a stepped "storage system" where bags, shoes and other goods are placed has been turned into a three-dimensional version of the usual shelving and is available for self-examination by customers.
The Alessi store in New York was designed by Asymptote architects back in 2006. Now it has been renovated - not because of dilapidation, but because of the changing needs of the owners. The cafe at the front of the premises has closed and the interior has now been transformed into a single space.
The walls are painted in different colors, and the new wallpaper is reminiscent of the facades of the skyscrapers of the Chicago school, which is relevant for the Soho district, where the store is located.
N. F.
