Los Angeles based architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa, designed this Aesop store in downtown LA. Using a warm natural color palette, and in keeping with the simple design of the skin, hair, and body care company, the designers used 6 inch cardboard tubes to create the walls, furniture, fixtures found in the space.
Located on the edge of the Los Angeles Fashion District, the cardboard tubes are a tribute to the empty fabric bolts often found in the fashion, costume, and design studios also in the neighborhood.
The natural cardboard walls, furniture, and fixtures compliment the tones found in the original concrete floor of the 1929 building and help the already tall space feel even taller thanks to the vertical arrangement of the tubes.
Shelves that appear to be made from the same recycled paper that makes up the countertop of the service desk, line the walls and cantilever out to support the products.
Circular cut outs down the face of five cardboard tubes at the front of the store have been designed to perfectly fit a single hand cream in each hole. The creams are arranged by color to make it easy to find exactly which cream you’re looking for.
The vintage style sinks used for customer product testing leave the plumbing visible and add to the industrial feel of the shop.
The counter at the back of the store has been fashioned from 6 inch cardboard tubes as well as from a countertop made of recycled paper that perfectly matches the texture and color of the rest of the cardboard in the interior.
A custom light fixture, also made from cardboard tubes, hangs above the counter at the back of the store to ensure that even the lighting is in keeping with the natural cardboard theme.
On the back side of the counter, drawers and cupboards have been covered with cardboard tubes with circular finger pulls to make it easy to open and close the uniquely designed drawers and cabinets.
The natural palette created by the use of cardboard and recycled paper makes the space feel warm and inviting, and simultaneously modern and minimal.
Here you can see a detailed drawing of the shelf system they used.
