{"id":118750,"date":"2025-05-21T03:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T03:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118750\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T03:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T03:28:12","slug":"heatherwick-studio-renews-iconic-longchamp-flagship-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118750\/","title":{"rendered":"heatherwick studio renews iconic longchamp flagship in new york"},"content":{"rendered":"

heatherwick and longchamp reunite in new york<\/p>\n

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designboom joins<\/strong><\/a> architect Thomas Heatherwick<\/strong><\/a> and Longchamp CEO Jean Cassegrain inside the newly renovated Longchamp flagship<\/strong><\/a>, La Maison Unique, in New York<\/strong><\/a>. Ahead of the public opening, the duo reflects on their long-standing collaboration and presented the store\u2019s intimate new interiors, nearly two decades after the building\u2019s first transformation. The flagship was originally unveiled in 2006 as La Maison Unique. At that time, it marked one of Heatherwick Studio\u2019s earliest works and has since remained a New York destination for design-lovers with its ribbon-like staircase<\/strong><\/a>. Today, the renewed<\/strong><\/a> space offers an atmosphere that feels both familiar and transformed. It is attuned to a different cultural rhythm, but is grounded in the same spirit of invention.<\/p>\n

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images courtesy Longchamp<\/p>\n

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a partnership which started with a bag<\/p>\n

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The partnership between Heatherwick Studio and Longchamp began not with a building in New York, but with a bag. \u2018This project started back to front,\u2019 Heatherwick recalls. \u2018We\u2019d made a bag built entirely of zip.\u2019 The unlikely origin speaks to the architect<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s fascination with scale and material, a thread that carries through from product design, to architecture, to urban planning. Originally, the design of La Maison Unique faced an immediate dilemma \u2014 a compressed street-level footprint and an expansive upper floor. \u2018We had to lure people upward,\u2019 Heatherwick tells designboom. \u2018That became the problem to solve.\u2019 The result is a sweeping sculptural staircase, a ribbon-like hillside that cuts through the building and functions as both a circulation system and an interior landscape.<\/p>\n

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In its current iteration, this now-iconic staircase returns updated in the brand<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s Energy Green, further referencing the gently climbing hillside which it mimics. \u2018We\u2019re not retail designers,\u2019 Heatherwick says. \u2018Our passion is making places that connect with people\u2019s emotions.\u2019 His approach here is at once about the display and the journey.<\/p>\n

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Heatherwick\u2019s Longchamp flagship reopens with renewed interiors nearly two decades after its 2006 debut<\/p>\n

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towards intimacy and randomness<\/p>\n

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Material gestures guide the experience throughout. Industrial columns are wrapped in carpeting which swells into swirling green rugs, an inversion of the expected. \u2018Carpets want to be flat,\u2019 Heatherwick reminds us. \u2018So we wanted to do the opposite.\u2019 The team worked with heritage French textile maker<\/strong><\/a> Leli\u00e8vre to wrap these structural elements in a tactile softness so that they blur the line between structure and furniture. In transforming an industrial space into a living room, Heatherwick Studio embraces these obstacles with a playful solution.<\/p>\n

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The second floor is curated with vintage mid-century pieces \u2014 croissant-shaped sofas, Gio Ponti tables, and Danish bar stools. Some furnishings were designed by Heatherwick\u2019s team, while others were sourced to align with Longchamp\u2019s postwar beginnings. \u2018It\u2019s a reference to the beginnings of our brand,\u2018 says Cassegrain. \u2018And to the idea that retail doesn\u2019t need to be rigid. A bit of randomness makes it feel more like a home.\u2019 Interspersed among the furniture are archival Longchamp objects, each bringing another layer of history and handcraft.<\/p>\n

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the new design retains the signature ribbon staircase, now in Energy Green to draw visitors upward<\/p>\n

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For Longchamp CEO Jean Cassegrain<\/strong><\/a>, the updated New York flagship, La Maison Unique, reflects how retail itself has changed over two decades. \u2018We used to think in terms of efficiency,\u2019 he explains. \u2018Now we think in terms of comfort.\u2019 The renewed space embraces this shift. The laminated logic no longer informs every decision. Instead, interiors open toward plush seating and vintage design objects. \u2018We give more space to the customer,\u2019 Cassegrain explained. \u2018We want them to feel welcomed, and to linger.\u2019 There is a sense that the store has transitioned from a dramatic display case to welcoming salon.<\/p>\n

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While many of Heatherwick Studio\u2019s spatial ideas remain from the original 2006 intervention, the renovation of Longchamp\u2019s New York flagship marks a tonal departure. \u2018We were more rigid back then,\u2019 said Heatherwick. \u2018Everything followed a north-south logic. Now we\u2019ve let go a little. There\u2019s a softness, an ad-hocness.\u2019 This evolution is intentional. Even the light now reaches deeper into the space, thanks to newly opened sightlines across the facade. Instead of controlling every gesture, the design now welcomes imperfections and interactions.<\/p>\n

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interiors blend structure with furniture and shelving that emerge from the floor and ceiling<\/p>\n

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carpeted columns created with French textile maker Lelie\u0300vre soften the industrial building<\/p>\n