parabolic structures painted in burgundy stucco outline stockholm flagship for chimi eyewear

campus architects uses subtraction as a design tool, exposing material honesty and spatial clarity.

Jani Kristoffe edited by christina vergopoulou October 10, 2025 3 min

CAMPUS designs CHIMI’s new Stockholm flagship

CAMPUS completes CHIMI’s new Stockholm flagship eyewear store with an approach grounded in reduction, clarity, and sustainable practice. The design process began by removing accumulated additions to uncover the site’s original architecture, allowing the new interventions to emerge through precision and restraint. The architects treat the act of reduction as a design tool rather than an aesthetic gesture. By peeling away non-essential layers, they reveal the inherent character of the space, balancing material honesty with environmental responsibility. Subsequent additions are deliberate and minimal, each serving to enhance circulation, function, and brand identity. A central parabolic counter defines the spatial organization, while a preserved staircase, refined with burgundy stucco side walls, acts as both structural and visual anchor. Together, these elements illustrate the project’s guiding principle: to achieve expression through measured subtraction rather than addition.

parabolic structures painted in burgundy stucco outline stockholm flagship for chimi eyewear - 1 — store facade | all images by Mikael Olsson

CAMPUS utilizes subtraction as a design principle

The parabolic curve, first introduced in CHIMI’s New York flagship, reappears here as a key spatial motif. In Stockholm, this geometry is developed through the sweeping central counter, which unifies display and customer interaction within a single form. The staircase, with its warm, mineral finish, complements this curve to create a visual dialogue between the existing and the new. Lighting plays an equally structural role in the design. A four-meter-wide circular luminaire and five-meter ribbon-like ceiling lights define the ceiling plane, offering both illumination and acoustic softness. Their presence forms a counterpoint to the tactile, mineral palette below, reinforcing the spatial hierarchy without dominating it.

The CHIMI Stockholm flagship demonstrates how a process of careful subtraction and targeted refinement can produce a space of clarity and coherence. Through this balance of material reduction and formal precision, CAMPUS architectural studio redefines retail architecture as an exercise in restraint and environmental consideration.

parabolic structures painted in burgundy stucco outline stockholm flagship for chimi eyewear - 2 — the parabolic cashier’s desk and the staircase

parabolic structures painted in burgundy stucco outline stockholm flagship for chimi eyewear - 3 — a staircase leads up to the mezzanine

parabolic structures painted in burgundy stucco outline stockholm flagship for chimi eyewear - 4 — store overview

campus-chimi-stockholm-sweden-flagship-eyewear-store-designboom-1800-5 — a 50 sqm mezzanine overlooks the main retail floor

campus-chimi-stockholm-sweden-flagship-eyewear-store-designboom-1800-6 — staircase leading to the optometrist’s examination room

store facade desk plan 01 plan 01-01 plan 02 plan 02-01 section 01-01 section 02-01

project info:

name: CHIMI’s new Stockholm flagship
architect: CAMPUS | @campus_architects

client: CHIMI | @chimi

location: Stockholm, Sweden

photographer: Mikael Olsson | @mikaelolsson_

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.