VITRA
Fig. 1 – Vitra in New York’s Meatpacking District. Photo credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 2 – Swiss furniture manufacturer.
Fig. 3 – Vitra at 29-35 Ninth Ave. Photo credit: Emilio Guerra
Fig. 4 – The Meatpacking District before the redevelopment of the High Line.
Fig. 5 – Verner Panton Heart Cone Chair.
Iconic Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra moved to the Meatpacking District just as the neighborhood was beginning to be transformed from gritty, functioning meat industry hub to a high end shopping, restaurant and nightlife destination. Vitra’s U.S. headquarters includes showrooms, offices, retail store and gallery in three floors of a historic industrial warehouse (figs. 3 and 4).
Fig. 6 – Construction shed graphic by 2×4. The Vitra logo began as a pristine collage of colored 8.5×11 sheets stapled to the construction shed. One year later, a shadow of metal staples were all that remained. Photo credit: Heidi Werner.
FIg. 7 – Ninth Avenue storefront with Jean Prouve graphic by 2×4. Photo credit: Heidi Werner
Fig. 8 – Program distributed over three floors.
Fig. 9 – Program interconnected.
Fig. 10 – Large openings and stairs connecting floors.
Fig. 11 – Upper level showroom floor extends down through the retail space as display surface and hovers into the basement gallery.
The three floors are integrated by large openings cut into each level (figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11). Stairs and multi-display surfaces pass through the slots, interconnecting the second floor showroom and offices, the street level retail space and the basement gallery (fig. 12).
Fig. 8 – Vitra Ninth Avenue entry sequence: a backlit store-length display shelf appears elevated from street level. Four steps up to store level make the shelf accessible to touching products. The display shelf turns the corner and becomes the stair landing up to the second floor showroom and offices. Photo credit: Richard Barnes
Fig. 13 – A wood stair and a large rubber-clad furniture display connect to the Vitra showroom above. Photo Credit: Richard Barnes.
Figs. 14, 15 and 16 – Sections through second floor showroom and office, first floor retail store and basement gallery.
Fig. 17 – Second floor showroom, looking down through a display slot to the Vitra store entrance below. Photo Credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 18 – The Vitra gallery stair and display slot connecting to the retail and showroom floors above. Photo Credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 19 – Stair up to the second floor showroom. Photo credit: Alan Tansey.
Fig. 20 – Stair down to Vitra store from the second floor showroom. Photo credit: Alan Tansey.
Fig. 21 – Second floor showroom. Photo credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 22 – Second floor showroom. Photo credit: Eric Laignel
Fig. 23 – Vitra offices. Photo credit: Eric Laignel.
Fig. 24 – Jean Prouve exhibition in the VItra gallery. Photo credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 25 – Large rubber-clad display surface extends from the second floor showroom to the basement Vitra gallery. Photo credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 26 – Looking down through the showroom level display slot to the Vitra store entrance and gallery below. Photo credit: Eric Laignel.
Fig. 27 – Vitra miniatures display. Photo credit: Richard Barnes.
Fig. 28 – Gallery stair. Photo credit: Eric Laignel.
Fig. 29 – Vitra store display shelf. Photo credit: Llorella.
Fig. 30 – Jasper Morrison chairs on display shelf. Photo credit: Llorella.
Fig. 31 – View from Gansevoort Plaza.
Fig. 32 – Ninth Ave. sidewalk.
Fig. 33 – Collaged cardboard model of storefront.
Fig. 34 – Ninth Ave street view.
Fig. 35 – Frank Gehry event.
Fig. 36 – Prouve and Pantone launch event.
Fig. 37 – Bouroullec launch event.
Fig. 38 – Suita launch event.
Fig. 39 – Prouve and Panton launch event.
Fig. 40 – Suita launch event.
Fig. 41 – Prouve RAW launch event.
LOCATION:
New York, USA
year:
2003
site:
13,000 sqf
program:
Retail, showroom and gallery
systems and materials:
Steel and wood frame, steel, wood, rubber and polycarbonate panels
client:
Vitra
project team:
Lindy Roy with Mark Kroeckel (Openshop/Studio), Sandra Donough, Tracy Geraldez, Jason Lee, Barbara Ludescher, Gernot Riether, and Heidi Werner
Architect of Record: Peter Himmelstein Design
Structural Engineer: Anchor Consulting
Mechanical Engineer: Stanislav Slutsky P.E. Consulting Engineers
Graphic Design: 2×4
Construction: Vanguard Construction and Development Co. Inc.
related projects:
Noah’s, L’Oreal Paris, Natura Brasil
exhibitions:
SFMOMA, ‘ROY Design Series 1’
Henry Urbach Architecture, ‘X-Roy Projects’
selected press and publications:
Surface (December, 2002)
Architectural Record (December, 2002)
Azure (May/June, 2003)
Oculus (June, 2003)
Abitare (July/August, 2003)
Postboks (November, 2003)
The Architects Newspaper (November, 2003)
Contract (December, 2003)
Conde Nast Traveler (November, 2004)
BoB (September, 2005)