The Departamento Los Angeles storefront by 22RE redefines retail concepts through a layered, experiential design – challenging spatial norms and honoring context and craftsmanship. Designed for the Arts District’s Signal enclave, the space embodies innovation in how it deconstructs the traditional store layout. Through a mirrored entry concealed within a café, shoppers are drawn into a portal-like experience that subverts expectations and sets the tone for a journey of discovery. Inside, a library-like grid is utilized creating shifting sightlines and unexpected vignettes that foster a sense of exploration throughout. This spatial choreography transforms shopping into an interactive, cinematic encounter.

Functionality is elevated through spatial zoning and material intelligence. The store accommodates browsing, personalization, and privacy within its flowing layout—using sculptural partitions to guide movement while also housing product displays. Dressing rooms serve as quiet sanctuaries, emphasizing client comfort and encouraging longer, more meaningful engagements. Custom furnishings—like the seafoam green fiberglass jewelry case or modular aluminum tables—are both aesthetic statements and practical installations that reinforce the store’s adaptive and editorial approach to retail.

Creativity is palpable in 22RE’s material and stylistic contrasts. Drawing from 20th-century European Modernism, the studio paints structural I-beams silver in homage to Neutra and Schindler, then juxtaposes that with custom burgundy carpeting and cowhide seating. Contemporary and vintage furnishings, including works by Tito Agnoli, Philippe Starck, and Achille Castiglioni, are paired with bespoke lighting and custom sculptural furniture to create an environment that feels like a curated gallery as much as a retail space. These elements reflect 22RE’s refined visual language, where materiality and form are never static but always evolving in dialogue.

The project’s eco-social impact is expressed through thoughtful reuse and cultural exchange. The shop-in-shop collaboration with Taiga Takahashi draws on traditional Japanese design and materials, including 300-year-old Sugi wood and tatami bases sourced directly from Japan. This use of reclaimed elements not only gives historic material new life but also fosters cross-cultural appreciation. Additionally, the adaptive reuse of an industrial Arts District site aligns with sustainable urban development principles, reducing the need for new construction and honoring the architectural legacy of the neighborhood.

With Departamento, 22RE delivers a space that transcends retail convention—merging architectural storytelling with material depth, cultural sensitivity, and a radical rethinking of how environments can spark emotional and sensory engagement.