Jenni Kayne boutique / Standard

Architect: Standard
Location: West Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA
Architect in charge: Jeffrey Allsbrook
Constructed Area: 223 sqm
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Benny Chan

The former warehouse space, transformed via a series of sustainability-minded choices and an aesthetic programme that is minimalist yet comfortable, announces its presence on Almont Drive with a glowing glass corner above a foating display window.

Standard partner Jeffrey Allsbrook worked with Jenni Kayne to create the debut retail venue for her growing collection of clothing for women, and a range of her favorite contemporary and vintage jewelry, accessories, books and furnishings. Behind iron gates, a vestibule leads through wood-clad doors into the interior of the brick and steel building. Spacious and spare, with new interior walls positioned to layer the building’s 2400 square feet into a series of light-flled display rooms, the store settles comfortably into this neighborhood of art galleries. The new store brings to the retail clothing experience the clarity and openness of a gallery setting combined with the texture and comfort of a modern California home. The store’s simplicity also makes it a fexible setting for Jenni’s store to grow and change over time.

Jenni Kayne’s desire to make earth-friendly choices aligned with Standard’s design ethos, and together Allsbrook and Kayne made material and concept decisions with a commitment to sustainability, as well as to the quality of the environment inside the store. The transformation of the space includes the installation of bamboo casework, recycled cotton insulation, and fuorescent lighting, as well as the use of low VOC (volatile organic compound) fnishes. The existing building’s materials are salvaged and tied back into the design. The concrete foors, ground and stained black, provide a dramatic backdrop for vitrines of brass, glass and bamboo. Steel beams, left unfnished, combine with new cedar slats to form a canopy over white and wood-paneled walls. The building’s brick perimeter walls have been exposed on the interior and painted white, acknowledging the structure’s rough character while softening the space and heightening its luminosity.