Gallery: A Sinuous, Computer-Designed Facade That Echoes London's Gothic History
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Paul Smith is best known for his brightly colored clothes, but his latest shop in London's Mayfair neighborhood takes visual cues from a much darker period in his country's history. *Photo: Paul Smith*
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The storefront, located at 11 Albemarle Street, is clad in a series of cast iron panels finished with a dark patina that would be equally at home in Henry the VIII's dungeon as this high-end haberdashery. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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The designers of the shop discussed an eclectic range of influences—Smith's iconic stripes, the weave of South American Panama hats, military medals, and the marks stamped into ingots of precious metals to name a few. They ultimately decided to cover the shop in cast iron panels. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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Each cast iron panel type was digitally modeled and the patterns CNC carved from blocks of dense polyurethane. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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The patterns were then used to form traditional sand casting moulds in the foundry. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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The panels were sand cast in spheroidal graphite iron, then allowed to rust. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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Once the orange iron oxide coating had formed on the surface of the panels, Hammerite Kurust was applied to the surface of the iron, forming a rich black patina of iron tannate. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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An additional coating of Hammerite paint was applied to the back of the panels to ensure additional longevity. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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Curved windows project from the darkly textured iron as luminous vitrines, with a nod to the curved glass of the nearby arcades. The windows are entirely bespoke fabrications, incorporating a laser-cut galvanized steel plate primary structure, a stainless steel carrier frame to which the curved glass is structurally bonded, and a weather tight brass shroud. *Photo: 6a Architects*
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*Photo: 6a Architects*
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*Photo: 6a Architects*
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*Photo: 6a Architects*
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Like most of Smith's projects, there are hidden details to be found by those willing to look closely. "The element of surprise always to be found in his clothes, often as not, as a detail that delights in the strangeness of its familiarity," says Macdonald. *Photo: Paul Smith*
