03 / Retail
Atelier 17
Stock photographyProject introduction
A flexible retail interior composed as a working archive of objects, surfaces and encounters.
Atelier 17 treats display as a changing spatial composition rather than fixed shopfitting. A family of movable plinths, rails and worktables supports launches, exhibitions and everyday retail without losing clarity.
The brief
Client
A Copenhagen design label opening its first shop in a former print works.
Programme
A shop floor that can be reset between everyday display, a monthly launch and a quiet work day, without calling a contractor.
Constraints
- The concrete columns and brick walls stayed as they were and could not be fixed into.
- The lease forbids permanent fixings in the floor.
- Every part had to be movable by two people.
- The budget favoured a few well-made parts over many items.
Existing conditions
The print works was a single hall with a column grid, brick walls and old shelving bolted along the perimeter. It could hold the product, but it dictated how the product was shown: the same display, every day.
Schematic shop plan / not to scale
- Rubber floor
- Concrete floor
- Movable kit
Design decisions / 01—04
Why it looks like this
- 01
One kit, many rooms
Five parts share one module: plinth, rail, worktable, shelf unit and screen. Because they are the same width, any of them can sit next to any other, and the floor can be recomposed in an hour.
- 02
A quiet field, a busy kit
Walls and floor stay restrained so that the product and the kit carry the colour. The parts are the only objects in the room that are meant to move.
- 03
Floor zones instead of walls
A rubber zone and a polished concrete zone mark where different activities happen. Parts can cross the line between them, which makes the edge a place to stage things rather than a boundary.
- 04
Design for two people
Every part has castors, light ash tops and hand-holds. Three standard layouts are marked discreetly in the floor: everyday, launch and work.
Design challenge
Build a recognizable spatial identity that can adapt quickly to changing collections and events.
Spatial concept
A precise kit of parts set against a quiet architectural field, allowing product, people and activity to continuously recompose the room.
Material specification / 01—04
Material decisions
- 01Oxidized steel
Frames of the plinths and rails
Hard-wearing and better for handling. The finish hides scuffs from moving.
- 02Oiled ash
Shelf tops and the worktable
Light and strong, so the parts stay easy to move. The oil can be repaired on site.
- 03Pigmented plaster
Back wall and wall panels
The colour sits in the material rather than in paint, so marks from moving parts do not show.
- 04Recycled rubber
Floor zone and castor pads
Quiet under wheels and forgiving underfoot. It fits a label that works with recycled materials.
Process / 01—05
From first study to finished room
- 01 · 2 weeks
Study
A survey of the hall and a week of watching how the label's team resets a pop-up.
- 02 · 4 weeks
Concept
The kit of parts drawn as a family, with three layouts tested on the plan.
- 03 · 6 weeks
Design development
Details for each part, the floor zones and the plaster colour samples.
- 04 · 5 weeks
Prototype
A plinth, a rail and the worktable built full size and moved across the floor by two people.
- 05 · 8 weeks
Fit-out
The floor zones and plaster first, then the kit delivered and the three layouts rehearsed.
Durations are illustrative.
Outcome
A shop that changes without a refit. The kit gives the room a recognisable character, and the label can answer a new collection by moving furniture rather than rebuilding it.
Scope
Spatial identity · Material specification · Art direction
Spatial identity and art direction / Studio Lind · Photography / Pexels
A concept project: details are illustrative