Steven Holl

Frederic Malle’s flagship store . New York

Steven Holl . photos: © adrian gault . + wallpaper

The 400sf perfume shop located at 94 Greenwich Avenue in New York City is an abstract insertion into the historic fabric of Greenwich Village. It is envisioned as an integral material/spatial whole.

An imagined geometry for olfaction, a slipped disk characterizes the facade, the main cabinetry, the furniture, and the secret garden beyond.
If “smell” could have geometric properties they might come in all scales and textures. Similarly, the “slipped disk” geometry is textured, porous and reflective (foamed aluminum); dense, smooth and opaque (black walnut); transparent (glass); or soft and rough (wool carpet).
In the Secret Garden, which is paved in schist, the gentle sound of water emanates from a cast brass slipped disk.