LORD & TAYLOR Ridge Hill in New York by Giorgio Borruso Design

Article source: Giorgio Borruso Design

LEGACY AND INNOVATION

Lord & Taylor, founded in 1826, is the oldest specialty department store chain in the country. They built the first suburban department stores, which became models for a new retail typology. In 1953, Lord & Taylor presented an award for independent thinking to Albert Einstein for his “nonconformity” in scientific matters. The company has an especially interesting story to tell in terms of both its history and its connection to high-level architectural design in its department stores. The projects developed under the leadership of Dorothy Shaver with Raymond Loewy provide a rich catalogue of inspiration. The spatial and formal fluidity in these early works was something we looked to rediscover, in particular, for the store in Ridge Hill, both in terms of the building’s relationship to its context as well as the experience of the public.

As the first new L&T store since 2001, our goal was to realize a project that honors the legacy of an iconic and historic partnership in design, both in terms of its architectural and urban presence (evolving the “big box” store) and its technological and design creativity.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

• Architects: Giorgio Borruso Design
• Project: LORD & TAYLOR Ridge Hill
• Location: New York, USA
• Software used: FormZ

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

SITE CONDITIONS: Lord & Taylor Ridge Hill is located in a multi-use development in Yonkers, NY. The construction site was previously vacated by a prospective tenant and many of the structural elements remained.

PROGRAM: Department store sale floor, storage, offices, dressing rooms, and a public indoor/outdoor space on the 2nd level screened from the harsh Yonkers winter.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

The design seeks to re-envision and energize the development’s New Urbanist assertions regarding contextualism, diversity, and inclusivity. The facades utilize a cutting-edge glass technology where each panel/node can be customized to respond with more specificity to its context/program. Therefore, a site-specific solution that addresses the Eastern park space (the deformation in the facade at the East entry) and the conventional facade adjacencies (the linear openings to the North) became possible. The found developer conditions were preserved behind the glass like artifacts on display.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

More than a ceiling: The two exterior entries are connected via a system of suspended custom-designed triangular lighting elements along the central spine of the store and up through the escalator opening. These elements create a second ceiling of non-planar surfaces, which is visually read as a whole structure: an organic system that subtly echoes the movement and rhythm of the freeform façade. This layer is not just a beautiful composition, but a connection with the exterior structural elements, that also conveys strategic visual information that gently guides the public through the space.

Taking spatial cues from the historical photos of the Loewy designs, the ceiling is also activated by a dropped curved soffit around the periphery of the store, while the lighting grid is made uni-directional and linear – becoming another intuitive orientation tool for the public.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

An “urban” network of orthogonal and curved paths as well as ovoid shaped nodes leads one through the departments. The aisles converge underneath the columns like a piazza providing moments of pause where sculpted columns activate and re-orient the public as well as provide adaptable spaces for changing displays. Matte-on-gloss white porcelain floor tile finishes, in extra-large format, simultaneously allow a freer “open-field” condition.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

The unevenness in surfaces (both in ceilings and floors) and seemingly random visual emphases in individual elements are planned “by design”. Every curve, variation in color, or “creative nonconformity” is intentional and strategic, and contributes to a subtle, almost poetic deconstruction of traditional retail “zoning,” while subliminally cajoling the visitor to taking unexpected paths across the space. For example, in contrast with the large-scale curvilinear surfaces (which are created by groups of “hard” polygonal and geometric elements), the sculptural columns are soft and elegant, formed by intentionally “offset” circles. Equally intentional is their orientation, stemming from a precise desire to open the space in a certain direction.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

The store re-creates a contemporary barrier free visual transparency and spatial lightness that was evident in the historical designs from the 40’s and 50’s. Natural light from the façade is amplified by the large, reflective white interior surfaces, enhancing the perception of the store like an open space. Formally innovative elements activate the space, but a simple restrained palette of finishes helps keep the space unified so it can act as an effective backdrop for numerous and diverse products and displays.

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Image Courtesy © Giorgio Borruso Design

Tags: New York, USA

Categories: Building, Commercial Area, Commercial Building, FormZ, Offices, Retail, shopping center, Shopping Mall, Showroom

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