Molteni&C | Dada London Flagship Store
London, United Kingdom
2019
The Molteni Group is opening its third global brand showcase in London, testifying to the city’s key role in the contemporary design scene. The new Flagship’s prestigious location has international visibility in the heart of Chelsea, opposite the illustrious
V&A Museum located in the vibrant Museum District. The space will complement the Molteni store in Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden, which opened in 2008, and the UniFor and Molteni&C Contract Flagship Store in Fitzrovia which opened in 2018.
The spirit of the new, unique, evolutionary project is in tune with modernity and true to the Group’s stylistic principles, designed by Molteni Group’s creative director Vincent Van Duysen.
“A project that succeeds in the search for good living by understanding the architectural making. This leads to feeling at ease in one of the most vibrant cities of the world, London. It is an honour to represent together with Molteni Group the quintessence of Italian design by creating a unique momentum in the city of bankers and creators.”
Vincent Van Duysen.
The space encloses the very latest offering of the Group’s two brands: Molteni&C and Dada, and symbolises a life marked by Italian flair with the intimacy of a private home. The concept defining this space – measuring over 700 square metres with five shop windows – is played out over two levels linked by a dramatic staircase. The new architectural design is faithful to the original features of the building: it has maintained its sense of space and preserved the perception of its original design from the late 1800s. The separating walls subdivide generous volumes, interspersed by tall travertine marble-clad portals. Each zone provides a stunning backdrop for items instantly recognisable as Vincent Van Duysen’s signature designs. A particularly breath-taking entrance, built on an inner door opens on to two floor-to-ceiling glass screens. A magnificent iconic staircase then appears, the walnut cladding of which complements the travertine marble steps. The same marble used for the portals. The floor-to-ceiling wooden entrance way – already synonymous with the brand’s
distinctive style – has been re-proposed in a version proportionate to the scale of the building. Visitors will find themselves guided by a skillful choice of lighting along a pathway featuring different spatial, material and stylistic sensations. They will be immersed in a sequence of evocative settings and in the emotion of alternating spaces and structures of the products, each representing the hallmark features of the Group’s two brands.
As art director of the project, Vincent Van Duysen has introduced distinctive elements such as the partitions between the rooms and the winter gardens, brimming with luxuriant plants. Sophisticated materials, the warm, golden colours of the travertine marble and walnut complement with various shades of warm and bone greys. The theme of alternating perceptions also features in the choice of finishes for the suspended wooden ceilings, made both flat and with Korean walnut beams. The ambience is a triumph of the Belgian designer’s architectural concept. The space is gracious, welcoming, dimensional, fluid and always legible thanks to distinctive details. This high-impact scenic space contains, frames and enhances the products of the new collections designed by Vincent van Duysen, Rodolfo Dordoni, Ron Gilad, Foster + Partners, Jean Nouvel and Patricia Urquiola, amongst others. The first floor features the Group’s iconic pieces. The Paul seating system and the wall-system Grid, the VVD kitchen, the Gliss Master wardrobe system and the Albert sofa are effectively
showcased in each setting, alternating between Gio Ponti’s final creations and a choice of pieces from the Heritage Collection.
The lower floor, defined by a cornice of structural niches, individually lit and furnished like the wings of a theatre, is accessed by the downward staircase, and it opens into a large living-room. The night area displays a sequence of Gliss Master wardrobes and a Grid wall system featuring a Ribbon bed.
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