图片 Image © Gionata Xerra Studio
MVRDV为珠宝品牌Tiffany & Co. 蒂芙尼重新设计了位于德国斯图加特市多罗腾区 (Dorotheen Quartier) 的店铺立面。这是 MVRDV 为蒂芙尼设计店铺立面系列中的最新作品。受到蒂芙尼材料创新历史的启发,MVRDV 为斯图加特店打造了一面采用钻石状陶瓷元素的外墙,通过隐形的安装组件,营造出漂浮的效果。变幻的虹彩光泽呼应了美国装饰艺术家、蒂芙尼品牌第一任设计总监路易斯·康福特·蒂芙尼 (Louis Comfort Tiffany) 于 1894 年设计开发的 Favrile 彩色玻璃器皿。
When establishing an approach to designing façades for Tiffany, MVRDV’s designers developed a range of principles inspired by the Tiffany & Co.’s legacy brand that could be translated into fantastical, finely crafted, eye-catching architectural results. From the drive to experiment with materials to a strong sense of three-dimensionality – informed by the tactility of Tiffany jewellery and the refined geometry of diamond cuts – these principles guided the creation of the Stuttgart store.
图片 Image © Gionata Xerra Studio
The façade features 2829 ceramic diamonds, mounted directly to the glass storefront using custom steel fixings. Mounted on both the outside and the inside of the glass, this gives the impression that visitors are surrounded in a dreamlike environment of floating diamonds. The density of these diamonds is adjusted to create transparency and opacity as required; around window displays and at the corner of the building, the diamonds “dissolve” to allow views into and out of the store.
图片 Image © Gionata Xerra Studio
Each diamond is cast by hand using a “slip-casting” method, then glazed in one of nine colours that make a gradient from Tiffany’s signature robin’s-egg blue to a pristine white. This colour gradient helps Tiffany to capture shopper’s attention, while also allowing the store to feel at home among the neutral colours of the Dorotheen Quartier.
图片 Image © Gionata Xerra Studio
The diamonds were manufactured by Koninklijke Tichelaar, the oldest ceramics manufacturer in the Netherlands and an expert in creating specialist glazes. In addition to the colours that make up the gradient on the façade, the diamonds are finished with an iridescent sheen, achieving a soft, dynamic finish that changes according to the lighting, weather, and viewing angle. This glaze was developed by Tichelaar in collaboration with MVRDV, and uses intentional variations in mineral composition and glazing temperature across the diamond surface to create a subtle, naturalistic sheen. The effect is a reference to Favrile glass, a sumptuously coloured, iridescent glass which was developed and patented by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the 1890s.
“In our façade design for the Stuttgart store, we tried to capture the sense of wonder and enchantment that has characterised the world of Tiffany & Co. ever since its inception”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “Being surrounded by seemingly floating diamonds, with their shimmering iridescence, we hope will do justice to this history.”