AZA designs 17,000 s/f of luxury retail space for Versace and Michael Kors

 

 

Manhattan, NY Alexander Zilberman Architecture (AZA) recent projects include works with Michael Kors, Versace, and Jimmy Choo, among others.

AZA was the lead architect on a new boutique for Versace, the Italian luxury fashion house, on the retail streets of Madison Ave. “We’re so happy to again work with this world-leading project team led by artistic director and vice president Donatella Versace, who has led an acclaimed reimagining of the brand’s global retail presence,” said Alexander Zilberman, AIA, NCARB, founder and principal of Alexander Zilberman Architecture, P.C.

With a design concept recalling the opulence of Italian villas, Versace New York Madison spans about 5,000 s/f on two floors at 747 Madison Ave. The modern interiors welcome shoppers with marble surfaces alongside artisanal plaster and gilded metal finishes. Greco-pattern marble, inlaid soft carpeting and herringbone parquet floors, fluted wood-paneled walls with cove lighting, and a receding, neutral ceiling foreground the displays and merchandise.

AZA worked with owner-developer Simon to design a new ground-up building for Michael Kors to expand the Woodbury Commons Premium Outlet in Central Valley. The team at AZA handled both building architecture and the interior program for the new 12,000 s/f pavilion, with large glass openings and distilled forms including its commanding pediment and dormers.

Replacing four structures previously on the site, AZA conceived a long-spanning lightweight steel structure with glass facades and an inventive, high-end cladding of slotted fiber-cement panels for the facades and pilasters, all below a slate gray, standing-seam metal and asphalt roof matching the mall’s material motif. Inside, AZA worked closely with the in-house Michael Kors design team to create an elegant shopping experience, meeting brand identity and merchandising standards for the client.

Zilberman said, “We started the design process with a vision of the ideal Michael Kors shopping experience, then developed the architecture from the inside out to house that experience, creating a consummate showcase for their brand identity while meeting all merchandising requirements.”

Across the country at both the Shops at Merrick Park in Coral Gables, FL, and at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA, AZA worked with another recurring client, Jimmy Choo, the shoe and bag designer known for immersive shopping experiences. In both settings, AZA worked closely with Jimmy Choo’s in-house designers to incorporate delicate shelving materials with onyx-panel bases as well as screen partitions, detailing minimalist settings for the product showplaces.