Location: MILAN, Italy 210 sqm 2018
Client: Jacob Cohen Co. SPA
Type: Retail

The new Jacob Cohen boutique opened in Milan in via della Spiga, at the very heart of the Fashion Quad. The new store is spread over 200 sqm and over two storeys, where Area-17 combined the richness of details to neat geometries of linear elements and surfaces, according to a color palette which deftly mixes deep blue, gold, and neutral shades of beige and browns, giving that sense of preciousness and laid-back elegance that has always been the brand’s hallmark.

 

The new concept builds on the assumption that beautiful things deserve an equally attractive space to match. Hence the sleek airy design, enriched by precious furniture and materials as the famous Japanese Kurabo denim used for flowy drapes and capitonné decorative panels, which eventually have become a signature of Cohen spaces. In order to highlight the color palette of the products, the finishes create a basic background, from the polished industrial concrete flooring with wool area rug inserts to lime-effect painted walls. Rich tridimensional textures inspired to the Cohen universe enliven the surfaces, alternating a new interpretation of the brand logo to sober vertical stripes of English tapestry memory, to architectural motifs such as boiseries and diamond walls. All materials’ treatments are completely natural: the store will age beautifully as a pair of favorite jeans does, becoming even more beautiful and personal. The new flagship store has fully succeeded in expressing the brand’s commitment to quality and craftsmanship through a careful attention to detail, which, however accurate, never exceeds the boundaries of sobriety. A few examples of this style can be traced in the calf hair inserts as well as the special edition furniture in the VIP area. The idea finds its best expression in the tailor room, where clients can personalize new items getting inspiration from the brand’s story, illustrated in a gallery wall made of both traditional and digital images.

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SHANGHAI, China 8'000 sqm 2019

On May 2019, Panerai staged the “Survival Instruments for Modern Heroes” event at the Minsheng Art Wharf in Shanghai. For the impressive happening, the Italian luxury brand recreated an underwater labyrinth complete with aquatic creatures and deep sea caverns to highlight the potential of its diving watches and chronographs.

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SHANGHAI, China 500 sqm 2019

Inside Mia Fringe Studio guests will discover endless possibilities to express their creativity, and they will leave transformed into a surprisingly new version of themselves. Mia Fringe Studio is then an extraordinary place of research, discovery, and metamorphosis. Area-17 designed the beauty salon as an enchanted forest where this magic happens, with an overarching aesthetic clearly hinting to manga culture.

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LONDON, England 440 sqm 2019

The Iris Ceramica Group showroom in London is a laboratory where people meet, interact, get inspired, learn, and nourish their creativity. Area-17 designed the interiors as if they were real-life environments, where the emotional and expressive potential of ceramics translates into furniture and solutions actively engaging visitors in the product’s storytelling. Distancing itself from a traditional way of exhibiting, the showroom revolves around a loose idea of connection, fully embracing the tentacular, dynamic vibe of the Old Street area.

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BEIJING, China 1'600 sqm 2019

The China Resources co-working offices were designed by Area-17 as a space that combines traditional values with modern functions. The nostalgic feeling of reminiscing the smell of ancient wood, solemn proportions of space, and the relaxing play of light on the porch with rustling leaves under your feet are an experience that one feels as if they brought you back into a mythical time of study and places that our collective consciousness relates to that experience.

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ORLANDO, Usa 108 sqm 2019

During Coverings 2019, Area-17 received the “Best Inspirational Design” award at the largest international tile & stone show in North America for the Fiandre USA booth design that was a tribute to the ancient world of Italian artists’ vintage workshops, where intricate ceramic artistry took place for decades. The “Ceramic Atelier” exhibition space envisioned the concept of an inspirational workshop, like a gallery-atelier, where mixed sizes, collections, and ideas contributed to new trends and innovative projects.

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MILAN, Italy 163 sqm 2019

This is the seventh opening by Area-17 Architecture & Interiors dedicated for Dispensa Emilia. The new prestigious venue is located within the wing side of the historic Central Station of Milan that overlooks Piazza Luigi Di Savoia. This area was recently renovated adding top-quality fast-casual restaurants exclusively accessible from the outside.

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SHANGHAI, China 400 sqm 2019

In the process of defining an innovative approach to local shopping, Alibaba Group asked Area-17 to design a new concept for convenience stores located in business districts and office areas. Named 盒马 F2 - Fast & Freshade, it sees the first tangible application in a 400 sqm store in Shanghai highly specialized to meet the needs of a clear-cut target of young business-people.

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Italy 2019

Bell is the snapshot of a movement. The truncated-cone volume synthetizes the shape of a real bell, whose oscillation is captured in a single instant. The incline of the lamp implies dynamism, an unstable temporary balance, which strikingly contrasts the obvious static nature that belong to an object of such great dimensions.

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COLOGNE, Germany 80 sqm 2019

Area-17 designed Ariostea stand at LivingKitchen, the annual international kitchen show at IMM Cologne, the most important furnishing show in Northern Europe. Within an exhibition revolving around contemporary product and interior design, Ariostea introduces a new way of interpreting the kitchen environment through a non-conventional use of ceramic slabs. The Ariostea kitchen is meant to be an architecture rather than a set of furniture pieces, something that generates a new space instead of furnishing an existing one.

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SHENZHEN, China 80 sqm 2018

Area-17 designed the new concept for Chinese eyewear brand Zèle’s stores. The payoff “Stay young, stay Zèle” translates into a design focused on a strong product and brand awareness, with a refined yet trendy atmosphere. Central to the project is the inner space, both as break time and personal place, where customers discover the pleasure of devoting time and attention to themselves.