Soho Camper Store
110 Prince Street
New York
Tel: 212.343.4220
Designer: Shigeru Ban Architects America

What happens when a global leader in shoe design employs a global leader in architecture to design a flagship store in one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in New York? Find out for yourself at the newly opened Soho space of Camper by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Known for his inventive blurring of interior and exterior, Ban delivers again with a striking retail design. The back wall of the store serves as an interior billboard with a large Camper logo, while the store’s windows can be adjusted, allowing the store to fully open up to the street and the Soho breeze.

The strong idea is executed masterfully, creating what lead designer Nina Freedman calls “a cohesive, integrated concept which emanates from the back wall display.” The back wall is folded, allowing shoes to be displayed in the breaks. From one direction, the logo on the wall appears whole, but from the other direction, it appears broken. Lines, light, and a corrugated metal ceiling radiate from the wall, animating the interior. Similar in concept to the back wall, the corrugation in the ceiling is painted Campers’ signature red and white, creating a distorting effect, as the ceiling appears to be different colors from different directions.