30 in 30: #17

Designed by Frank Gehry, tribecaISSEYMIYAKE is the flagship store for the Japanese fashion designer. The two-levels house all the Miyake collections under one roof for the first time. According to the store's web page, "a titanium sculpture winds its way through the space that doubles as a creative venue of artist collaborations, exhibitions, and events."



Visiting the store (no photos are allowed inside, so these are all exterior shots looking in) the effect isn't so grand. The piece by Gehry is most effective when it rolls or billows like a piece of fabric. But at other times, it's crinkled and takes on the look of sheet metal rather than titanium. For a store that sells a $540 men's hat, the effect of the sculpture sometimes doesn't live up to these prices.



But the design is more than the Gehry sculpture, including the architecture of Gordon Kipping. Granted that one of the appeals of many storefronts is the interaction between interior and container, between old and new, the titanium piece does a good job of creating a contrast, but it's not the only part that does. At the perimeter of the store is a glass floor that gives a peek to the store's lower level, while at the same time revealing the floor joists that echo the ones above. Walking in this area is a bit strange, vertigo-like, but it shows that a simple gesture such as that can have as much (if not more) of a spatial impact than a complex metal sculpture.



One thing that Gehry's sculpture does accomplish admirably is to break down the scale of the store's interior. Take for example the image above. While it looks like the store ends in the middle of the image, at the low point of his metal ripples, it actually continues to more than double the store's footprint. This area beyond appears to be where the exhibitions and events occur, as the space is more open. While not as large as OMA's Prada, what Gehry's done is take a space that could appear as sprawling and bring it down to the scale of the human body, something that makes sense for a store selling wrappers for the same.



Directions:
The store is located at 119 Hudson Street (at North Moore) in Manhattan's Tribeca district. It can be reached by the 1 to Franklin Street.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial