Threefold Architects have designed a new shop and offices for Pure Groove Records in London.
The store, in Smithfield, aims to revitalise music retailing at a time of falling sales by featuring live bands, exhibitions and film screenings as well as selling music.
The architects used standard laboratory components and steel rails to design a constantly changing display.
The following info is from Threefold Architects:
--
Innovative young design practice Threefold Architects have just completed an exciting new store and office headquarters for Pure Groove. Threefold architects formed in 2004 to create innovative, exciting design. Each project is treated as an opportunity to experiment and find unique solutions that meet the specific requirements of clients and users, whilst constantly striving to exceed their expectations!
Pure Groove are an established independent record label, music retailer and publisher who pride themselves on discovering and promoting new music. This ethos was central to the design of the project both aesthetically and conceptually. The client challenged Threefold Architects to spearhead their brand relaunch and expansion into new premises and create a new retail experience to tackle the decline of music retail industry in the 21st century. To create a space where people can buy music but also listen to and watch live bands, visit exhibitions and view films. The approach of the newly opened store is to focus on the ‘Pure Groove Top 100’; a constantly changing display of 100 different musical releases. This is accompanied by displays of stock of exclusive related merchandise and instore performances by live bands.
In order to display the ‘Pure Groove Top 100’ Threefold Architects have created an innovative and bespoke display system that has moved away from traditional music retail display instead focusing entirely on displaying the single objects front on. A series of 5 steel rails evocative of the five line staff of musical annotation wrap the walls of the shop. Using standard laboratory components each of the 100 items is hung from the rails, with a separate label gripped by another clamp identifying the item number and a short description. The bottom pair of rails carry 100 numbered bespoke record bags which contain the purchasable stock.
In addition a number of other display components have been designed to hang from the rails to display and stock other merchandise. The stock is displayed on the outer walls to create a generous space in the centre of the shop for the in store performances. Movable hanging screens which double as acoustic baffles can be located throughout the shop hung from the steel ceiling grid, to display, artwork, merchandise, promotional material etc.
In response to the varied brief Threefold Architects have carefully designed a series of bespoke architectural insertions using an intentionally pared down pallet of materials to create a dynamic and exciting space that is flexible enough to be transformed from a store to a gallery to a cinema to a music venue capable of accommodating live bands and hundreds of fans.
The Pure Groove store has just opened with a diverse month long program of events ranging from live instore performances by bands such as the Mystery Jets and HEALTH, to a specially commissioned art piece by hip young illustrator Kate Moross and an exhibition of live My Bloody Valentine photographs by David Fisher.
