RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Pianos’

Cannabis to Grand Pianos: 14 Radical Modern Retail Designs

26 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

retail steinway 2

Whether selling recreational marijuana or grand pianos that cost almost as much as a house, this eclectic mix of retail stores really sets off their products with eye-popping interior design schemes featuring unusual architectural elements. Some of the shops might even be at risk of outshining what they sell with modern sculptural displays, dramatic hanging staircases and faux truck facades.

Stunning Steinway Piano Showroom

retail steinway 1

retail steinway 3

The stainless wires on the facade of the flagship Asian Steinway & Sons showroom mimics those inside the luxury pianos on display, only slightly obscuring them and the people who test them out within the beautifully illuminated space. Designed by SALT, the shop’s main room mimics the living rooms of European manors.

Clear as Day: Crisp White at Optimist Eyewear Store

retail eyewear

retail eyewear 2

retail eyewear 3

A perfectly clean, crisp white terrace that looks almost like a pristine glass cube from the street is tucked into a dingy alleyway in Greece as part of optical shop c_29 / optimist. The airy space by 314 Architecture Studio modernizes the classic Greek aesthetic, with the products tucked into prismatic sculptural furniture.

Hawaiian Theme for Pineapple Express Cannabis Store
retail pineapple express

retail pineapple express 2

A creative firm called McBride company is anticipating the day when the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana becomes legal nationwide, and has designed a concept for a national chain of cannabis retails stores called Pineapple Express. “The industry needs to provide a sales experience that reflects the evolving perception of marijuana,” says CEO Pat McBride. “The store design and atmosphere we created offers consumers a space that incorporates all the elements of great retail design, but addresses the unique display and service challenges faced by the cannabis retail industry. Our goal was to make this a true retail experience, meaning customers should feel completely comfortable and entertained, while also safe and secure. Some elements of cannabis shops today have the opposite effect, especially when the focal point is a long consultation counter where customers must wait to be helped.”

Greenhouse Effect at Mit Mat Mama in Barcelona
retail mit mat

retail mit mat 2

retail mit mat 3

Shoppers feel like they’re walking into a tropical greenhouse as they enter the Mit Mat Mama maternity store in Barcelona by architect Román Izquierdo Bouldstridge. Emphasizing a feeling of freshness, harmony and natural beauty, the store consists of a modular system of wooden ladders stretching up to the ceiling that are used to display plants. The scheme adds visual interest without blocking views of the entire space.

Fiberglass Cave at SND Fashion Store by 3GATTI
retail fiberglass cave

retail fiberglass cave 2

retail fiberglass cave 3

Vertical sheets of white fiberglass hang from the ceiling of SND Fashion Store in Chongqing, China to create an undulating canopy that utterly transforms the entire interior. Shanghai-based studio 3GATTI gets a little catty in their explanation for the design, saying “We used a very thin white translucent fiberglass material because of its fire resistance and the way it reacted to light, thus creating a ceiling landscape that would be a spectacular source of beauty and emptiness; perfect for every fashion victim.”

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cannabis To Grand Pianos 14 Radical Modern Retail Designs

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Cannabis to Grand Pianos: 14 Radical Modern Retail Designs

Posted in Creativity

 

Agony & Ivory: 12 Not So Grand Abandoned Pianos

08 Jun

[ By Steve in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

abandoned pianos
88 keys and nothin’ on… except dust, dirt & decay. These 12 abandoned pianos may irk music lovers but cheer those who live life slightly out of tune.

New York Minuet

abandoned piano East River(image via: James and Karla Murray Photography)

OK, so abandoning pianos is a thing now. Take the East River Piano, a now-silent Mason & Hamlin found wallowing (when the tide’s in) and waterlogged on the Manhattan side of the river, under the Brooklyn Bridge. It couldn’t have been easy to lug the 300-lb behemoth down to the riverside but someone (probably with a little help) did just that sometime towards the end of May, 2014.

abandoned piano East River NYC(images via: Canoe.ca/REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)

Photographer Carlos Chiossone told NBC 4 New York he was out for a walk and noticed a photo shoot taking place on and around the piano. “But then they left,” said Chiossone, “and the piano is still there.” Who will remove the #EastRiverPiano and when? The City Parks Department issued a short statement saying the beach is not under their jurisdiction, or in the words of the late Freddy Prinze, “It’s not my job, man.”

Piano Tree Oh

abandoned piano tree Mifflin(image via: WeirdWood)

Artist Jeff Mifflin’s Piano Tree was a so-called “living installation” set in a forested area just off the Disc Golf Course at California State University in Monterey Bay. Mifflin took an old stage piano and after some judicious sawing, made it appear an ancient tree was growing out of the old upright’s heart. The tree continued to grow even after it was unnaturally mated, however, and would be evolving today if a drunken music-hater had not taken his frustrations out on the artwork.

Leaves Behind

abandoned piano leaves(images via: Zariat)

“I encountered an abandoned piano yesterday,” states blogger and photographer Zariat, and “I was charmed by the elegance it maintained while slowly decaying beneath the fallen leaves.” That’s the thing about abandoned pianos: while definitely fish out of water, they seem to maintain a certain degree of dignity regardless of how pitiable and perilous their situation.

Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player

Russian soldier abandoned piano Chechnya(image via: Reddit/red321red321/Imgur)

Why was this Russian soldier playing an abandoned piano? Because it was there! And by “there” we mean Chechnya, sometime in 1994 shortly after the advent of the First Chechen War. It’s not known if the piano was ticking when the soldier began tickling the ivories, nor if the instrument was rigged to explode should the player hit a bum note.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Agony Ivory 12 Not So Grand Abandoned Pianos

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Agony & Ivory: 12 Not So Grand Abandoned Pianos

Posted in Creativity