Alexander Zilberman Architecture transforms high-end retail space

Manhattan, NY Alex Zilberman, AIA, NCARB, founder and principal architect of Alexander Zilberman Architecture, P.C., (AZA) has helped transform a former restaurant on the Upper East Side into the latest retail venue for global skin, hair and body care leader; Aesop.

As with the Wall St. flagship that opened last year, Zilberman’s firm, AZA, worked directly with the brand team as local collaborators tasked with technical execution. Following concepts from Aesop’s in-house design team based in Paris, AZA helped realize their vision for a new location that integrates the existing architecture into the guest experience — an approach to store design that is one of the pillars of the brand — resulting in spaces that are equal parts familiar and distinctive, each “a self-contained universe.” 

As the architect for two of Aesop’s newest locations, Zilberman brings wide experience on luxury retail projects worldwide, including flagships and rollouts for such leading brands as Jimmy Choo, Helmut Lang, Michael Kors, Theory, Soho House, Chanel and Aston Martin. 

AZA’s scope of work supported the Aesop’s in-house concept designers and the brand team as an architecture firm able to handle all aspects of retail design implementation and required approvals. This was especially important in transforming a former pizzeria into this high-end body care experience. 

“We love collaborating with and learning from our clients as much as sharing our expertise,” said Zilberman. “This is especially true for our work with Aesop, whose brand seeks to integrate the existing architecture into each venue’s design, resulting in a fresh experience for guests visiting each new location. So while Aesop Upper East Side is completely unrecognizable as a former pizza shop, the design nevertheless celebrates the unique, industrial vibe of typical New York City architecture with exposed mechanical infrastructure and a focus on concrete, steel and glass with accents of limestone.” Aesop released new information about the Upper East Side location on the occasion of their recent launch party.

A self-contained universe 

Manhattan is a grid of architectural islands. A rigid chaos of concrete, steel and glass. Each skyscraper is a self-contained universe, presenting a tall, hard façade to the street. In this way, the pedestrian’s experience is vertically enclosed, limited to straight lines and right angles. When one steps into a building, however, an interior world is revealed, opening up non-linear possibilities previously unimaginable. The design of Aesop Upper East Side performs this transition—from outside to in, from hard to soft, from public to private.

The façade of stone and glass reflects the surrounding cityscape. At the same time, the warm interior beckons, drawing passersby in. The glossy, geometric posts of the shelving structure recall Manhattan’s characteristic building profiles, which ensure that light and air reach the street below. Each level of the posts’ inset corresponds to a different function: where one might sit, where one’s hands might rest on the basin, for example. In this way, the idea of urban zoning is translated to the scale of the human body.

As one journeys further into the store, the pleasures of the Aesop realm are discovered. A soft, tucked-away bench offers the weary rambler a place to rest. Obstructing the linear progression through the space, a central stone basin allows customers to wash away the grime of the metropolis. Perseverant visitors will reach a private space where an individual basin is hidden from view. This is the inner core of the Aesop cosmos: a place of intimacy, running water, and unlimited explorations of aromatic and efficacious products.”