Aesop Yorkville - Main retail sink with stainless steel pendant light and burgundy walls



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Aesop Yorkville - Sculpted retail sink and product display, with burgundy walls lined with balusters used as wall paneling



Aesop Yorkville pays homage to the neighbourhood’s history and architectural character to lend the space an inviting, domestic atmosphere.




Aesop Yorkville - Floor Plan



Aesop Yorkville - Axonometric Drawing



Aesop Yorkville - Axonometric Drawing



Traditional wooden spindles – characteristic of the Victorian porches and staircases of the nearby houses, and repurposed from a local fabricator's waste stock – are rethought as unconventional wainscoting.




Aesop Yorkville - Sales Desk and Bench with walls lined with traditional balusters painted burgundy



Aesop Yorkville - Sales Desk with vintage lamp



Aesop Yorkville - Axonometric Drawing Corner Seating



Aesop Yorkville - Main Retail Sink and Banquette Seating, walls covered in traditional balusters painted burgundy



 

Category: Commercial - Retail

Project Year: 2021-2022

Status: Built

Client: Aesop

Location: Toronto, Canada

Scope: Interior Design

Photo Credit: John Alunan, Aesop


The 1960s brought about the erasure of entire neighbourhoods in Toronto, replaced with expansive new developments.  Yorkville, however, stood in sharp contrast.  By preserving and adapting many of its original Victorian houses, and therefore maintaining a more human scale, the area fostered a bustling street life, making it a unique destination within the downtown core.

Aesop Yorkville pays homage to the neighbourhood’s history and architectural character to lend the space an inviting, domestic atmosphere.  Organizationally, cues are taken from nearby gathering places.  Surrounding a large, open area, the perimeter is lined with vertical divisions which not only emphasize the verticality of the space, but delineate the program into smaller enclaves.  Between these partitions, traditional wooden spindles – characteristic of the Victorian porches and staircases of the nearby houses, and repurposed from a local fabricator's waste stock – are rethought as unconventional wainscoting.  Though familiar up close, their tight spacing resolves them into something new, a sculpted surface to manipulate light and shadow.  Further recalling the warmth of a Victorian interior, the paneling is coated with a deep burgundy paint.

Carved out within the wall segments, three revolving cylinders theatrically reveal Aesop’s expanded fragrance line, as well as an infusion chamber, the company’s first in Canada.

Sitting in the middle of the space, the shared wash basin reinterprets the particular geometries of Victorian pedestal sinks, with their articulated corners, rounded edges, and heavy top volume perched on a recessed base.  A second sink is quietly nestled in the opposite corner, offering a more private customer experience.

 



Aesop Yorkville - Private Consultation Sink with bench and historical image of neighbourhood



Aesop Yorkville - Axonometric Drawing Bench



Aesop Yorkville - Private Consultation Bench with burgundy walls



Three revolving cylinders theatrically reveal Aesop’s new fragrance line and an infusion chamber, the company’s first in Canada.




Aesop Yorkville - Fragrance Cabinet Closed with product display



Aesop Yorkville - Fragrance Cabinet Axonometric



Aesop Yorkville - Open fragrance cabinet, product display, bench, and retail sink