'the lake & stars installation' by SOFTlab in new york city, USA

‘the lake & stars installation’ by SOFTlab in new york city, USA all images courtesy SOFTlab image © evan joseph

the fourth installment of BOFFO building fashion, new-york based design team SOFTlab has created a retail installation for lingerie line the lake & stars, currently on view until 23 november, 2011. focusing on one of the most basic mechanisms of retail – optics – the ‘store-within-a-store’ featuresa series of extruded windows that amplify the details of the garments.

viewing cones image © alan tansey

inserted into a pre-existing space, the design takes on a small and linear footprint to give equal importance to the ‘exterior’ as much as the ‘interior’. the front elevation features a landscape of faceted cones which extend out to a viewing window of various sizes. wrapped in a matte-black material that is soft to the touch, the undulating surface encourages visitors to utilize the kaleidoscopic apertures, offering a new experience to the often fleeting ‘window shopping’.

front elevation image © alan tansey

image © alan tansey

view into the store image © evan joseph

kaleidoscopic effect image © alan tansey

image © evan joseph

from inside image © evan joseph

singularly finished in a glossy white skin, the interior contrasts with the aesthetic of the dark exterior. artificial lighting through the viewing cones project a multi-coloured effect on to the interior walls.

reflective cones image © alan tansey

interior view image © evan joseph

image © alan tansey

(left) image © alan tansey (right) image © evan joseph

project info:

design team: michael szivos, carrie mcknelly, liz kelsey, elliot white, alex singer-bieder installation: sean madigan, maciej barwinski, virginia malnyk, pearl ho, kathrine salamat, prudence katze

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.