Sustainable Luxury of Tiffany & Co. Store with Glass Diamond Facade
- October 17, 2024
- By: Ar. Priyanshi Shah
- INFLUENCERS
Inspired by Tiffany’s renowned jewellery art and designs, MVRDV designed a jewel-inspired store with an innovative approach of glass diamonds as a sparkling material that creates a sense of awe for passersby. Shanghai, is a city committed to sustainability and innovation, this store in the Taikoo-Li Qiantan retail development area features a handcrafted diamond facade. Tiffany & Co’s background and popularity as a luxurious brand was the inspiration behind the jewel facade crafted with glass diamonds representing craftsmanship, detail and innovation.
A Retail Center
The retail center was completed in 2021 and Tiffany &Co. store takes a noticeable place on the central axis. With the southern half of this retail zone dedicated to a wide range of luxury brands, MVRDV’s design stands out from the crowd with a bold and deceptively simple concept: a facade made of diamonds, a character of sustainable luxury. The vibrant and elegant facade speaks the language of timelessness. The elements of the glass diamond facade illuminate the glittering effect throughout the day and shine of colours.
Tiffany Glass Diamond Facade
With an external screen composed of 6,988 handcrafted glass “diamonds”, the facade evokes clear associations to Tiffany’s renowned jewellery designs. During the day, these elements reflect and refract the surroundings, resulting in a glittering effect, while at night the façade’s LED lighting allows the store to shine in an infinite range of colours. The facade is a thoughtful approach fostering materiality and recycled aspects of design. Various hues of LED Lights create a vibrant surrounding incorporating low energy measures and striking glimpses of the structure throughout the day.
Materiality and Innovation
With an external screen composed of 6,988 handcrafted glass “diamonds”, the facade evokes clear associations to Tiffany’s renowned jewellery designs. During the day, these elements reflect and refract the surroundings, resulting in a glittering effect, while at night the façade’s LED lighting allows the store to shine in an infinite range of colours. The facade is a thoughtful approach fostering materiality and recycled aspects of design. Various hues of LED Lights create a vibrant surrounding incorporating low energy measures and striking glimpses of the structure throughout the day.
Honouring Tiffany’s legacy, MVRDV designed an interactive facade that is simple and elegant. This innovative construction technique with glass diamonds created a tale of expression and simplicity. This approach pays homage to Tiffany’s heritage by emphasizing concepts such as innovative materiality, a strong sense of three-dimensionality, and the ability to spark wonder in onlookers. In Shanghai, all of these principles find their expression in the screen of glass diamonds. These are placed to give a randomly scattered effect, thinning out for greater visibility where needed, such as alongside the first-floor balcony that accompanies the store’s café. These glass diamonds are thoughtfully placed to create a dramatic effect for the visitors. It changes the hues and reflects at night, as a sparkling jewel.
Details of Material Construction
The glass diamond is 21 centimetres wide and 13 centimetres tall, weighing 1.5 kilograms. They are suspended on thin steel cables, which are coated in a mirrored steel finish and placed in high tension between the top and bottom frames of the structure. Specially designed steel fixtures, designed to be as small and unobtrusive as possible, ensure the diamonds do not move or spin on their supports. Sustaining material aesthetics and intricate details, this store is an example of craftsmanship and sustainability. The choice of glass diamonds was sustainable as the components can be removed at any time and recycled whenever necessary.
Colour - Changing LED Lights
With efforts to design’s attention to detail, the facade only uses mechanical connections, allowing it to be completely dismantled and its parts reused or recycled in the future. Like MVRDV’s previous design for Tiffany’s Singapore Airport store, the facade for the Shanghai store incorporates a characteristic element from the local surroundings – in this case, being inspired by the bright and colourful light displays of Shanghai’s skyline. Therefore, the project integrates low-energy, colour-changing LED lighting into both the top and bottom of the façade. The facade can thus be lit in any colour, including the trademark Tiffany Blue, with each colour being brought to life by the refractive effects of the glass diamonds.
The art of creating with innovative materials, experiential presence and vibrant structure that evokes a sense of awe for the visitors illustrated the architectural language of the Tiffany & Co. store. The playfulness of glass diamonds embedded with colourful LED light creates a dazzling effect. MVRDV is the leading architectural firm working to create a better society with the use of sustainable principles and innovative techniques all around the world.
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