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Dec.12 - Dec.19, 2004 |
Scenes From Rome's Cityscape
Toronto designer Johnson Chou inspired by classical forms in Woodbridge retail project
By Mark Curtis
Originally Published: 2004-11-14
Toronto designer Johnson Chou is known for his modern minimalist retail interiors for Toronto stores such as TNT, but a recent project by Chou reveals an approach grounded in more classical architectural forms.
Clothing retailers Doriano Di Carlo and Fabio Sardellitti were teaming up to open their own higher-end menswear shop in Woodbridge. Impressed by Chou's design work, the young retailers wanted him to design their new store, named Grafic. "We loved (Chou's) ideas right from the beginning," says Sardellitti, who along with his business partner wanted to create a store with an urban feel. The co-owners liked the modern sensibility behind TNT's interior designs, but they also felt a warmer palette would be necessary to complement the comfortable service-oriented shopping experience they planned at Grafic. An eight-month store design process between designer and retailer had begun.
Located in the newly opened Weston Downs Shopping Village, the modern interior of Grafic is evident as one approaches the shop's entirely glass frontage. Chou created a stainless steel-clad "tube" at the front of the shop which houses a cylindrical cash desk and provides a viewing frame for the 1,500 square foot space. The first design element seen beyond the stainless steel frame is a monumental store-length walnut-stained wood display and storage wall which almost touches the shop's 14-foot ceiling. The wall's off-centre siting divides the shop into one very open area and another more intimate area reserved for the owners' collections of exclusive labels.
The dark wood of the display and storage wall warms the main space and the effect is repeated in the back lounge, where a black Le Corbusier couch sits on a raised mahogany floor. The low ceiling of the lounge creates an intimate space, a contrast to an initial impression of spaciousness within the shop. The lounge is intended to evoke the comfort of an old world-style men's club. The interplay of compressed and open spaces is even evident within the lounge. Adjacent fitting rooms are enclosed with chromogenic glass and when the fitting room doors are closed, the glass is opaque and can double as a film and video screen. When the doors are open, however, the glass becomes clear and expands the space visually. Subdued shades of red and blue add more warmth to the shop.
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