Hot Off The Press: Monk House Design in Melbourne CBD by Flack Studio.

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Yes, the rumours are true. Flack Studio is back with another Flacktastic retail interior you get to see first here on Yellowtrace. How good is that? Bloody awesome, I reckon.

Located on Driver Lane in Melbourne’s CBD, Flack Studio have expertly created the second store for Monk House Design – a boutique fashion retailer stocking Australian and international women’s labels. With an existing boutique in Brunswick, the brief called for a city store that was a sleeker, crisper and sharper version of its existing counterpart. The relaxed and inviting environment needed to be carried across the two stores, achieving a non-conventional retail space that was minimal in appearance with maximum functionality.

The existing heritage listed interior had a strict set of rules, limiting Flack Studio with what could be changed within the space. “We treated the fitout as an ‘insertion’ of elements, objects and forms, rather than changing the built form. It’s almost like our client could pick up and relocate at any time,” explains the design team. This clever strategy has not only resulted in what appears to be a reasonably cost effective interior, it’s also created a retail store that feels dynamic, with the ability to slightly shift with it’s changing collections.

“We were fortunate that the existing interior embodied beautiful original features such as ornate cornices and decorative columns. To counterbalance these ornate features, it was important for us to keep the forms of our design monolithic, minimal in detail and bold,” explains Team Flack. The original colours – soft pink and green (yum!) – provided opportunities to enhance the existing features with a graphic punch of deeper colour tones in the same palate. The velvet curtains to the change-room ‘pods’ are a shade of rich olive green which anchors the rear of the space. “In all our projects we like to throw one colour into the mix that really disrupts the space.” In this case, the blue mirror really adds a new dimension.

Lighting the space was a real challenge due to not being able to touch the existing walls or ceilings. Flack Studio replaced the two existing chandeliers with custom coloured ‘Step and Kick’ pendants from Volker Haug, further supplementing the overhead lighting with added light sources. “The sales counter and feature displays are lit by Artemide ‘Tizio’ task lamps. In addition to this, we designed the hanging rails with an integrated linear LED light to the base plinth.” These throw a soft light up the 5-meter high linen fabric panelled wall behind.

Colourful but elegant, simple but layered, sophisticated but playful – Flack Studio have not only nailed the brief but also taken the beautiful heritage space to a whole new level. Consider me, once again, impressed.

[Images courtesy of Flack Studio. Photography by Sean Fennessy.]

The post Hot Off The Press: Monk House Design in Melbourne CBD by Flack Studio. appeared first on Yellowtrace.

http://www.yellowtrace.com.au/monk-house-design-flack-studio/

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