Aesop Hamburg | Vincent Van Duysen Architects

Aesop’s new flagship store in Hamburg was created in collaboration with Vincent Van Duysen Architects from Antwerp, Belgium. It’s location, in a listed and protected building in the hearth of the city’s most vibrant streets - Poststrasse – and its cast iron façade, defined a first source of inspiration to create a unique and sophisticated atmosphere.

At the same time, this particular store will offer clients to experience a skin care treatment in a dedicated and secluded room, something unique in Europe. The presence of this feature played an important role in the interior design concept.

Strongly inspired by the sophisticated and elegant Hamburg city vibe, Vincent Van Duysen crafted a tactile, refined and contemporary atmosphere, where beautiful and natural materials define the essence of the space. The store’s interior walls and ceilings were stripped down to their original forms, exposing the volumetric expression of the existing beams and columns, cladded in a rough and textured bone color plaster. Envisioned as a central and sculptural element in the space – relating to ancient fountains in natural stone – a water feature in solid Belgian blue stone creates the leading and interactive experience with Aesop’s products. This same beautiful grey stone covers the entire store’s front floor which, in combination with the textured ceiling and wall plaster, define a sober and timeless setting.

Belgian linen curtains create a soothing and domestic background for the main display counters and wrap the skincare treatment area into calm and welcoming space. To complete the warm and natural expression of the material pallet, natural and untreated European oak wood is applied for all shelving and display furniture elements. The wood is combined with blackened steel elements which relate to the cast iron façade. Specific color accents, directly related to Aesop’s product range,  are used in certain rooms and in the façade to accentuate a certain degree of elegance and femininity.

Serene and timeless, Hamburg’s new store is made out of special and unique materials that, just as Aesop’s products, you’ll want to touch, feel and hold, creating the ultimate “experience for the senses”.