For Aesop Roosevelt Field, our in-house design team looked to the abstracted monuments of retail venues in their many iterations and stages of life across the United States and created a statuesque space in a corner location of the popular Long Island hub. Originally designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1956, the site has morphed over the decades, adapting to the industry’s vicissitudes. Brian Ulrich’s photographs of shopping centres, casinos, and parking lots, where monochrome forms emerge as vast sculptures, provided further inspiration.
Soft curves articulated in circular ceramic tiles invite passers-by to enter the store without revealing the interior experience. From a distance, the tiles present a uniform surface; at closer range they express their speckled nuance. The rounded walls meet horizontal surfaces, drawing precise lines—monolithic forms assert themselves in steadfast grey; alcoves hold shadows and tonal depth.