1855 The Bottle Shop, Singapore Commercial Development, New Retail Interior Architecture Photos

1855 The Bottle Shop in Singapore

31 May 2022

Interior Design: LAANK

Location: Singapore

Photos: Studio Periphery

1855 The Bottle Shop, Southeast Asia

The inspiration comes from taking a page out of the books from old European libraries and underground cellars; with a historical sensibility. LAANK took this opportunity to reinvent impressions of a bottle shop and relook at the browsing experience. Using fins and arches, symmetry and proportions, they created a unique and dynamic arc shape that subtly divides the areas, wine on shelves spreading upward all the way, just like a super city wall built with historical (wine) culture.

What was the brief?
With this shop at Marina Bay Sands being its flagship store, the clients wanted an elevated retail experience from all their other outlets. Taking the opportunity to also design a more efficient storage and display system that would be able to showcase the wide range of bottles that they have.

How is the project unique?
The inspiration comes from taking a page out of the books from old European libraries and underground cellars; with a historical sensibility. We took this opportunity to reinvent impressions of a bottle shop and relook the browsing experience. Using fins and arches, symmetry and proportions, we created a unique and dynamic arc shape that subtly divides the areas, wine on shelves spreading upward all the way, like a super city wall built with historical (wine) culture.

What were the key challenges?
Shopfront:
The site is a typical storefront within a shopping mall, being located near the main mall entrance. The sunlight is reflected strongly on the shopfront which resulted in harsh reflections from the sun and affecting visibility to the public passing by.

Display:
Given the large number of varietals for display, we had to think of a new way of showcasing them without compromising on functionality.

What were the solutions?
Shopfront:
Unlike most retail stores, we removed the window display and kept the shopfront completely unobstructed for a full view of what we’ve created within. Allowing the natural light to filter into the store and also vice versa have the store’s illumination filter outwards. With this we hope to encourage regular patrons and new guests alike to step through the portal and lose themselves in the world of wine discovery.

Display:
Instead of a conventional, modular shelving system, we adopted undulating and radial shelvings. Bottles are artistically arranged both horizontally and vertically, from floor to ceiling with display and storage seamlessly integrated as one. Certain selections are suspended on brass racks and sit atop pedestals, while standalone cylindrical capsules showcase special items. Just like rare collections in a library or museum, we wanted to confer the bottles the same status.

Key products used:
The carefully chosen materials magnify the experiential qualities of their store; drawing upon the similarities between wine and patina— how they both get better with age— we applied a rust-like patina texture to the fins and arches. This aged texture is complemented by notes of black from the black granite flooring and cellar room. Orinoco Granite was used for the flooring alluding to antique cellars and mirrors are used in the private walk in chiller to generate amplitude and an atmospheric world of reflections, visually expanding spatial impressions creating an open and high feeling. We also customized paint to mimic corten steel / aged steel effect.