Tag: max-lamb | ArchDaily

Shaping Desire: How Architects Redefine Commercial Spaces

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 07:30:00 +0000

In contemporary architecture, commercial spaces have become more than points of sale; they are stages where identity, image, and experience converge. Stores, showrooms, and branded interiors often operate as laboratories where architects experiment with form, material, and light, translating corporate narratives into spatial experiences. In this context, the architect emerges as a mediator of desire, shaping atmospheres that guide perception, evoke emotion, and subtly influence behavior. This role reveals a complex intersection between design and capitalism: the creation of spaces that sell not only products, but also aspirations, lifestyles, and cultural meaning. By transforming commerce into an architectural performance, these projects invite reflection on how the discipline negotiates its agency in a world where visibility and image have become as essential as function.

In the Swedish City of Järfälla, Ten Radical "Superbenches" Are Unveiled as Community Incubators

James Taylor-Foster — Tue, 02 May 2017 04:00:00 +0000

Sweden is home to the world’s longest public bench. At 240 feet (around 72 meters) in length, the Långa Soffan (“long sofa”) was installed by the citizens of Oskarshamn in 1867 to overlook its rather unspectacular harbour, which opens toward the Baltic Sea. The function of this bench was not for passing time and taking in the coastal views, however; in times gone by it was rhythmically occupied by the wives of sailors awaiting their husband’s return from sea voyages. It allowed people to gather under a sense of common melancholy and collectively recall the smiles of their distant spouses before the ocean’s broad, blue canvas.

Acne Studios Madison Avenue / Acne Studios + Max Lamb

AD Editorial Team — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:15:00 +0000

From the designer. Acne Studios new global flagship store on the Upper East Side of Madison Avenue in New York City features gold as its signature tone, with metal interior walls and fittings in aluminum that have been electrostatically gilded. A black asphalt floor and structural columns are dotted with semi-precious coloured stones. The space, entirely wrapped in glass to allow interior visibility, is designed to act as a gallery as well as a clothing store.