Asprey Store New York

When Aspreys embarked on a bold exercise to create two new flagship stores in London and New York, Foster and Partners was commissioned to integrate the history and values of the luxury lifestyle brand with a contemporary architectural statement. Both stores are a fresh interpretation of the rich heritage of Aspreys 200-year Bond Street legacy. The Trump Tower branch at Fifth Avenue harmonises the intense Britishness of the Asprey brand with the New York context by using an architectural language and scale that is absolutely vernacular. While the design echoes a bow-fronted Victorian shop, the lines are sleek, fluid and at the height and scale of the dramatic entrance to the tower, which is stepped back as it rises above the triple height shop frontage. Rather than recede under the shadow of the tower, however, the immaculate transparency of the crystal glass faade and the brilliant white recesses contrast with the glazing on surrounding buildings, demarcating Aspreys as a distinct, gleaming unit on the corner of 5th Avenue and 56th Street.

The companys signage runs horizontally between the middle and top floors, with the windows set on a granite base and the Asprey logo carved into the stone. The central entrance, opening onto a three-storey vestibule, clearly expresses the duality of tradition and uncluttered modernity. Inside, the broad pale floors of British limestone combine with luxurious Wilton carpet. The grand staircases, with their curved glass balustrades and bronze handrails, and the translucent elevators create a feeling of ease, opulence,light and spaciousness. To soften the drama of the tall windows, they are veiled with curtains made up of rows of fine bronze rods.

At 20,000 sq ft, the interior provides an unusually generous retail area in which to display products ranging from jewellery, silver, watches, pens, leather goods and china, to luxury ready-to-wear and fashion accessories. The display cases, designed by Foster and Partners, are made of traditional materials such as mahogany, bronze and glass, referring to the original historic Asprey display cases. Surprisingly, they still maintain a seamless modernity, and are subtly lit with a mixture of fibre-optics, halogen and linear fluorescent T2 lamps. The mezzanines between the floors are used to showcase Aspreys collection of rare books, and interior designer, David Mlinaric, has selected the stores period furniture and carpets. A perfect resolution of old versus new, Asprey New York communicates quality, high-style and a hint of tradition. The store has achieved the ultimate balance between the contemporary and the longstanding strength of the Asprey brand.

Client: Asprey and Garrard
Consultants: Cantor Seinuk Group, Gardner and Theobold, Thomas J Fiskaa Engineering, Kondos Roberts, Mlinaric Henry and Zervidachi