In Context

From its sophisticated formulations in signature dark amber glass bottles to its brick-and-mortar experiences, antipodean skincare brand Aesop is known for its attention to design. Its newest store in Hong Kong has received a uniquely localised design treatment, thanks to Melbourne-based March Studio.

The Gough Street store is the 16th that the studio has designed with Aesop over more than a decade and across nine cities, including Singapore, New York and Paris. March co-founder Rodney Eggleston and Aesop have aimed to base the design around each location, both physically and in a less literal sense. ‘Contextualisation has always been an important aspect. The opportunity here was to look at Hong Kong from its ground-scape,’ Eggleston explains.

The store’s location on a corner of two bustling streets in Sheung Wan thus provided the context and cues. Historically, the area was home to a thriving printing industry, and the store design was conceived as a tribute to these industrial roots. The design retains parts of the original structure: the original walls still stand, and slabs of relief work can still be seen.

March’s long-standing relationship with Aesop grew out of a ‘mutual love of material’ and the opportunities different materials present in creating a distinct visual identity. This time, the material was the humble glass brick. ‘ By looking at just one material per site, we’re given the opportunity to really explore everything about it,’ Eggleston says, and through this investigative approach and innovative construction techniques, the blocks become an elevated floor. The floor’s structure, comprising 400 columns and more than 3,000 glass bricks, is Eggleston’s way of ‘preserving the immediate space between the old and the new ground-scape’. Through the transparent blocks, the original flooring and entrance stairs are visible, creating what Aesop retail architecture manager Denise Neri likens to an archaeological section in a museum. Supported by steel legs and feet, the elevated floor is a visual nod to the vertical city, while the full-height windows provide varying perspectives of the store’s interior and the different street levels outside.

Thick grey felt was chosen to offset the lavish use of glass, and is most prominent as the substantial grey curtain enveloping the spiral staircase — another of the building’s original features — that leads to the treatment space above. Overall, the monochromatic palette, steel, glass and felt create an industrial feel befitting the store’s context, and one more masculine in tone than Aesop’s other Hong Kong stores, which typically feature warmer tones and softer materials.

Another noteworthy feature — in response to Hong Kong’s lack of recycling infrastructure and in accordance with Aesop’s sustainability practices — is that the store will work with a local partner to become the first Aesop store where customers can return glass bottles and plastic attachments for recycling or reuse.

Materiality, authenticity and sensitivity to place and product are the guiding factors here, and the result is a space that offers a chance to appreciate both the area’s heritage and Aesop’s characteristic emphasis on design.