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Designed by San Francisco-based architect John Randolph, Aesop's second Portland location was an exciting, three-week design-build style project. 'Set between the Willamette River and a sylvan belt on its eastern edge, the space references both Portland’s natural surrounds and the history of Burnside Street as a crucial thoroughfare, particularly in the 19th century – for lumber heading to port, and for lumbermen heading to and from the town’s rowdy saloons. This legacy inspired extensive use of locally sourced timber in the store’s design. The interior is clad entirely in Douglas Fir that has been charred using the traditional Japanese technique of ‘Shou-sugi-ban’, which not only confers a conspicuous silver-black patina but also fortifies against age, pests and elements. The product display wall references both the natural axis of Burnside and the sawtooth pitch of the logger’s steel saw blade.'
* Narrative text by Aesop
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Designed by Mexico City-based architect Frida Escobedo, Aesop’s first Miami location sought to bring the vibrancy and energy of the city into the space.
The design features meticulously detailed connections between dichroic glass panels, slicing through saw-cut boulders. Turnkey & Bespoke sourced the stones and located the same company that cut stone blocks for the Brooklyn Bridge for fabrication - keeping tolerances within 1/8” to achieve the desired visual effect.
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Designed by New York-based Architecture Outfit, Aesop's second Boston location was a delicate act of preservation. During the course of construction, the patinaed and slightly blemished exterior walls of the former Colonial Drugstore were intentionally left untouched. Wall ad ceiling surfaces about the nine-foot datum were smooth-plastered and a large skylight was installed, ultimately creating a pristine 'luminous crown' over an otherwise aged space. Millwork included delicately welded blackened steel armatures by Digifabshop and custom copper faucets.
- Architect Selection
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Through extensive research, I was thrilled to discover the sophisticated work of Montreal-based architect Alain Carle. Alain ultimately authored Aesop's first Quebec store in the Westmount neighborhood of Montreal.
'[In the cultural identity of Montreal] the presence of water, always nearby, has been the main source of inspiration for designers. Upon entering the shop, visitors face a painted wall which evokes the presence of water - black and reflecting on an adjacent wall at specific times of day. A video installation, designed by Pascal Grandmaison, discreetly illuminates this simulated aquatic world. The wood floor recalls the trunks of trees floating on a dark river while the trunks of three birch trees remind the Quebec forest. A long brass sink also seems suspended in weightlessness. Above the cash counter, the Tripod of Serge Mouille lamp looks like an insect just emerged from a swamp.'
* Narrative text by Alain Carle
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Designed by Brooks + Scarpa, '[This location] takes cues from the neighborhood culture and the empty bolts of fabric strewn about costume shops and fashion houses. The environment consists of 6-inch round cardboard tubes to create walls and furniture. This natural palette is warm and inviting, projecting a soft glow to the store’s interior and onto the street and sidewalk. Countertops are made of recycled paper, complimenting the cardboard tube wall finish.'
* Narrative text by Brooks + Scarpa
* Photo credits Art Gray
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Architect John Randolph's first Portland location 'conjures the hybrid spirit of traditional apothecary and general store. Portland’s historic shipping and logging industries are recognised through the textural repetition of hemp fibers – a material once used to fashion tents that housed Oregonian loggers and fishermen.
The restrained palette continues with a grid of taught ropes that form a delicate ceiling, implying an intimate scale to a tall volume of space. A thick layer of recycled and mulched newspaper applied to the ceiling absorbs sound to effect quietude, while a ring of kerosene-like LED lighting defines the sales area, conferring warmth to the monochromatic interior.' The space proudly features reclaimed surgical lamps and a repurposed demonstration sink from the Oregon State Mental Institution - the film set for One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest.
*Narrative text by Aesop
- Site Scouting
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Aesop's Queen St. West collaboration with Toronto-based firm Superkul served as their first Canadian location.
'The shop design was inspired by the historic juxtaposition of residential and manufacturing uses along the street, and the natural landscape of the former Garrison Creek ravine in adjacent Trinity Bellwoods Park. The interior was stripped back to the original brick, forming a substrate for an installation comprised of layers of industrial felt and blackened steel. Crafted by artist Kathryn Walter, the felt alludes to Canada’s 17th-century commercial origins in the fur trade and the history of local textile manufacturing. Soft, warm and domestic, it provides a buffer against noise—and in its organic imperfection, an evocation of the greater Canadian landscape. In complement, the blackened steel elements reference local industrial history and the embedded streetcar tracks of the roadway just outside the door.'
* Narrative text by Superkul
