On June 2nd, Aesop, skin, hair and body care retail brand, opened its first store in the city of Düsseldorf, Germany designed by Norwegian practice Snøhetta. Located in Grabenstraße, Aesop's new store is made up of curvilinear wooden shelves, which forms a rigid texture, materiality and form to create an amphitheater feeling for the visitors. 

In harmony with the handsome pedestrian plaza in which the store is situated – host to a variety of markets and fairs – the design subtly blurs distinctions between interior and exterior, and effects subdued contrasts of materiality and form.

Blonde-hued, tiered shelving crafted from Douglas Fir curves around the walls to effect a crescent suggestive of an amphitheater beckoning audiences; embedded downlights from the ceiling mirrors its form. Snøhetta creates a calm, hot, stable but toneless interior space with pastel tones of colours forcing full concentration on shopping through these colourless transition. 

This implicit extension of the plaza is amplified by a monolithic concrete sink; reminiscent of a fountain around which local might regularly gather. Conversely, an element of the interior is continued just beyond the stone façade, where two timber benches fitted with planter boxes invite visitors to sit and linger in the shade outside. 

With the recent opening, the store in Düsseldorf becomes the fifth space resulting from the collaboration between Aesop and Snøhetta.

All images © Aesop

> via Snøhetta