SUB-BNB

The Balenciaga New Bond Street flagship store occupies a building at the intersection of New Bond Street and Conduit Street. The retail space is separated from the street by a glazed facade, exposing the raw concrete interior to passersby, as if the interior was an abandoned relic amidst the luxury shops of New Bond Street. Initially designed as an opaque, high-security stainless steel door, the entrance cuts diagonally across the facade’s rounded corner, replicating of the original 1939 design. Each of the three levels of the store is distinguished by unique surface treatments meant to simulate the effects of aging, which progressively increase from floor-to-floor. Chipped concrete shelves and oxidized steel construction elements are mounted on cracked concrete slabs and serve as shelving. Stabilized dirt and mud-like encrustations contrast with extruded aluminum fixtures. On all three floors, the building’s core is visible through glass panes, exposing the raw construction of the elevator shaft and industrial staircase, and serving as a unifying visual device. Illuminated display vitrines and LED screens are embedded behind the glazing, collapsing infrastructure with retail display.