De Bijenkorf is a luxury department store with seven branches in the Netherlands and part of the British Selfridges Group. i29 interior architects made the design for the new 3500 m2 menswear department on the first floor of the Amsterdam store. The monumental building on the Dam square in the heart of Amsterdam is a national monument. For the major renovation that is going on for some years, the British firm HMKM made a new retail strategy and KAAN architects an architectural vision. The starting point was unveiling the original construction and opening up the façade for more daylight and the connection with the city.
The interior design of i29 is based on the architectural structure of the building. A spatial "grid" connects floor, columns, ceiling and furniture with each other in a division of gray tones. This structure forms a strong basis for the various installations, shop-in-shops and generic brand presentations in the store.
The "brand stores" also follow the grid, but distinguish themselves in their own materialization. This brings unity to the experience but at the same time ensures diversity, variation and flexibility for specific brand identities within the general structure. Each area has been given its own identity by varying the color and material of the installations. Glass in different colors provides a transparent spatial experience but also defines the different areas.
