Dissolving the boundary between object and architecture!

Compiled by TeamIAnD

Photography: Doublespace Photography; courtesy v2com

Read Time: 2 mins

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Toronto’s new Headfoneshop goes atypical on the retail scenario by implementing a design objective that instead celebrates the ritual of listening to music and the process of testing.

Headfoneshop is a 300 sq. ft. retail fit out for high-end headphones, earphones, amps and audio accessories, located on the main floor of a 42-story mixed use tower in Toronto, Canada. 

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The owner, a passionate audio expert proposed to challenge the typical retail store experience of focusing solely on the product and efficiency of the transaction for maximizing turnover. Batay-Csorba Architects, who’ve a reputation for creating projects that engage their context, users, and the public realm, designs the store, committed to creating a transformative spatial experience through the exploration of site, typology, materiality, and movement. The architects introduce a dark, lounge-like atmosphere in the store by creating an intimate, dark and tactile ambience with a sense of domestic scale, where the customer can relax and listen to the music of his choice.  

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It’s not uncommon for customers to spend several hours pairing systems and listening to music. Dark smoked-oak mill-work and herringbone flooring, sensuous velvet upholstery, soft amber lighting and patina-ted brass fittings create a dark and subdued palette that curate a quiet, moody ambience.

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In contrast, 255 powder-coated folded metal panels, secured with 765 patina-ted brass screws wrap the ceiling and walls producing a spatially dynamic and immersive space that mimics the intense and enveloping audio experience. 

The typical headphone stand is reimagined as a wall display that extends over top of the visitor and down the opposite wall, enveloping him in the display itself. The bent metal plate allows for display of headphones in multiple configurations, while hiding unsightly wires.

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The metal wrapper in one sense is aggressive, but the scale and repetition produce a subtle movement and flow. The juxtaposition between strength and softness creates a composition of emotional tones that can be felt on the body.

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While the design strives to affect how a customer feels, it also rethinks how the environment can optimize the product. Instead of the product display system being a separate element with the architecture, it dissolves the boundary between object and architecture.