courtesy CuldeSac

This past March, the CuldeSac™ Retail Design team, headed by Pepe García, designed and produced a simple, yet striking, installation to present the Ç x Façonnable collection in a showroom in the Parisian district of Le Marais to show off this exclusive fashion firm to distributors and retailers from across the world.

The project by CuldeSac™ has faithfully modeled the essence of the firm’s latest creation, conceived by the Lebanese designer Mira Mikati –Co-Founder of the Plum concept-store in Beirut– and consists of a contemporary revision of the tradition and origins of Façonnable, embodied with the spirit of the French Riviera.

courtesy CuldeSac

The Spanish studio has represented the trendsetting nature of Ç x Façonnable with the spectacular installation of a giant winding necktie that acts as a skeleton and skin for the display, inside of which the various collection pieces are displayed.

Rolls of printed corrugated cardboard serpentine throughout the space, guiding the walkway thanks to the stability and gentleness of the material, creating in turn an agreeable, memorable and impactful scene. The color blue, very much present in the new collection, pervades every corner and brings visitors to the city of Niza in the French Riviera, the birthplace of Façonnable.

courtesy CuldeSac

Like a reinterpreted classic, the necktie plays a major part in transmitting and sharing the values of the new Façonnable capsule collection, a contemporary and fun look at the brand’s DNA.

In this first collaboration with the French firm, wherein Façonnable encouraged CuldeSac™ to tap into the creativity and magic of being faithful to its origins, the studio has been able to envelop the requisite latest trends and dress the product with the same genuine character with which it is imbued.

courtesy CuldeSac

YOXIMOVIC designo studio created a BIG BOTTOM. It's seat and the arms are made as one whole to resemble four letters Z. The space between the seat and the arms irresistibly calls to mind the nickname BIG BOTTOM. OK, it doesn't really look like a photo model but that doesn't affect its elegance and appeal.The chair's beautiful legs with garters have a whiff of the mid-20th century. The wood elements are joined with traditional carpenter's joints. The chair is made of solid walnut with oil finishing, it is easy to care for, and it is comfortable and enduring like a Rolls-Royce.

courtesy YOXIMOVIC designo studio

courtesy YOXIMOVIC designo studio

courtesy YOXIMOVIC designo studio

© Carol Darby

Design of the arena is a joint venture between by ARM Architecture and Cameron Chisholm Nicol, who based the striking form on the Eternity puzzle, with references to one of Perth's oldest buildings: the twelve-sided Roundhouse in Fremantle.

© Carol Darby

Its bold, puzzle-inspired exterior made with ALUCOBOND® in Custom Colour Arena Blue, Cream, Black, Sparkling White and Silver Metallic reflects its role as Perth’s premier venue for large-scale sport and entertainment events.

© Carol Darby

Our architectural strategy was simple: provide a core multi?functional arena without compromise and then surround it with variable circulation and a striking configuration. Most venues of this type provide continuous repetitive spaces around the core function. We have explored this building typology another way. Instead of a singular facade we have created extreme variability, giving the building a different face from every angle.

Design director Howard Raggatt, founding director at ARM Architecture

© Carol Darby

The design of the arena's envelope in Yves Klein blue is carried through to some of the interiors, where it is complemented by timber-panelled concourse areas and other surprise pockets of colour.

Perth Arena has superior acoustics and a flexible design, allowing for crowds of up to 15,500 people. The retractable roof can open in seven minutes allowing natural light to flood the centre court. It also features five multi-purpose event rooms, half a dozen food and beverage outlets, state of the art acoustics, function spaces, corporate hospitality suites, cafes and a basement car park.

© Carol Darby

Sustainable features include mixed mode natural ventilation to public concourses, displacement air conditioning system through the seating plats reducing energy consumption, photo voltaic (solar) array on the roof, WELLS (Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards )-rated fixtures and fittings and waterless urinals. Hard-wired sustainability measures include one of the largest photovoltaic solar-power arrays of any building in Western Australia.

+ Project facts

Location: Wellington Street, Perth, Western Australia
ALUCOBOND® Plus in Colours Custom Colour Arena Blue, Cream, Black, Custom Colour Sparkling White and Silver Metallic
Construction Type: rear ventilated triangular cassette system
Architects: ARM in association with CCN Architects
Fabricator/Installer: Alcom Fabrications (Fabricator) Annapurna (Installer)
Year of construction: 2012
Copyright pictures: © Carol Darby

+ All images courtesy Carol Darby