Proenza Schouler's new store opening in New York

Proenza Schouler announced today the opening of their second store at 121 Greene Street in New York.

Designed by Adjaye Associates, the flagship location features a 2500 square foot retail area and brings forth elements from the Madison Avenue location.

Housed within a historic cast iron fronted building, an antechamber with sliding glass doors forms a 'façade within a façade' that acts as a display area as visitors enter the space. Once inside, the space is dominated by a number of planes and geometries culminating in a dramatic concrete staircase leading to a lower level illuminated by natural light flooding in from the original glass canopy to the rear of the building.

The ground floor, which hosts mainly ready to wear, and the lower level, featuring handbags, shoes and small leather goods, are punctuated by a series of concrete display cubes that run throughout the space. At street level, the main double height is rectangular on plan and culminates in a blackened steel screen that reaches the full height of the entire double volume space. Harkening back to the original bronze screen in the first Proenza Schouler store, it offers a visual connection and view through to the lower level with triangle cut outs revealing and leading to the downstairs area.

The material palette is a combination of exposed aggregate poured concrete for the staircase and the original refurbished timber floors. The dramatic floor to ceiling 30-foot walls comprise a tessellated tiling system of repeating forms, oscillating geometries and shapes that shrink and grow, in three honed marbles: Kenya Black, Bardiglio and Lilac. It offers stone as a series of samples and textured geometry that becomes a compositional language defining the space. Blackened steel shelving and hanging display systems are integrated into the tiling system. Full height fabric curtains along the facing walls complement the stone and soften the space.

An outdoor-indoor living and breathing sensibility is accentuated by the contrast of exposed aggregate poured concrete benches and a grey wall lined with an installation of green plants. The store features custom developed furniture designed in collaboration with Proenza Schouler and Doug McCollough. Throughout the space, it is a mix of familiar materials used in uniquely defined ways.