OMA / Shohei Shigematsu has revealed images of the new iconic Tiffany & Co. Fifth Avenue Flagship Store. In progress and scheduled for the spring of 2022, the intervention “reimagines the retail experience while preserving the historic identity of the original building”.
Marking the first general renovation in the building’s 80-year history, the project is a collaboration between OMA and Tiffany & Co. “From preservation to reprogramming, renovation of the ground floor and reimagining how the top of the building is expressed”, the project takes on different types of interventions.
Designed by Partner Shohei Shigematsu with Associate Jake Forster and OMA New York the project puts in place a new addition atop the 10-story historic building. Along with the renovation works, this upper volume, located between floors 8 to 10, “will become an exhibition, event and clienteling space that meets the growing and diverse program needs of the brand”. In fact, this space will provide an infrastructure for Tiffany to expand their retail repertoire, creating a new facet to the brand’s identity, in direct relation to the urban surroundings.
Tiffany’s 5th Avenue Flagship is more than a retail space, it is a destination with a public dimension. The new addition is informed by programmatic needs of the evolving brand—a gathering place that acts as a contemporary counterpart to the iconic ground-level space and its activities. The floating volume over an existing terrace provides a clear visual cue to a vertical journey of diverse experiences throughout the building. -- OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu.
A symbol of modern architecture, the original store was designed by Cross & Cross in 1940, and the existing upper level in 1980. The OMA scheme proposes to extend the current vertical structure and put in place an element of newness at the top, while generating a gentle transition, balancing pragmatism with sensuality. Actually, “the two spaces of the upper volume that make up the new addition is a moment of clear but complimentary contrast to the original flagship”.
Divided into two spaces, stacked but have the potential to work together, the upper volume is a combination of flat and slumped glass taking cues from the corniced parapet of the original building. In fact, “the slumped glass is structurally favorable and requires less vertical support while creating a mirrored effect that provides privacy from the exterior. The flat Low-E glass optimizes energy performance while minimizing reflections from the interior to preserve transparency for views out onto the city”. Moreover, the volume is recessed to provide a spacious outdoor terrace, to host exhibitions and events.
