Flagship Store and Headquarters in London

A clothing retailer’s new London headquarters unites different functions under one roof. The flagship store occupies three storeys; above it are a design studio, tailors’ rooms, the administration and a penthouse. Four teams were invited to a competition to develop an identifiable building on a site just off Oxford Street. The London firm Squire and Partners conceals the various functions behind a veil of acrylic glass sheets. This filter’s vertical grooves create distinct moods – depending on incidence of light and viewer’s angle – ranging from a bar code to the silky sheen of a fold in fabric. The facade is most impressive at night: LED rails below each panel transform it into a semi-transparent curtain of light.