DEAN & DELUCA
New York
Two years ago we collaborated with Büro Ole Scheeren developing the concept for the new Dean&Deluca stores. The first shop was built for Design Miami 2016.
Instead of a merely utilitarian sales and display counter pushed against the perimeter wall, the STAGE is a central platform for social interaction around the making and consumption of food. The space is given a focal point, and the STAGE becomes the central energy center for a theatrical interplay of ‘actors’ and ‘audience’.
STAGE concept accepts the givens – recognizes existing spaces as ‘objets trouvés’ – and celebrates the authenticity and diversity of what it finds. Into this raw context a singular refined object as an autonomous, flexible unit – perfected, optimized and globally multipliable across diverse contexts and locations is inserted: a STAGE for the presentation and celebration of delicate food.
The second STAGE store was open in the Meatpacking District in New York. The central platform dominates the space, in this case a typical New York establishment, with high ceilings, iron columns and beams and brick walls, all exposed to reassure the authenticity of the place. The Stage, as always, regular and pristine.