The Dolce and Gabbana Flagship Store in Venice
Visitors are greeted on arrival by the free-standing symmetrical stone façade meticulously restored and displaying the brand’s accessories for men and women. This space is lavishly detailed with intricately carved dark wood walls and ceilings and elaborately patterned inlay mosaic stone floor. The contemporary furniture is delicately designed to disappear or to reflect and accentuate the historical envelope. The journey then leads to a linear architectural “atriumcanal,” flooded with natural light and a spectacular 20-meter long by 4.5-meter high wall of 24-karat gold glass mosaic tiles that were handmade locally in Venice by traditional mosaic craftsmen Orsoni and Friul. The mosaic wall supports 45 floating brass shelves displaying the latest bags and accessories. The large women’s ready-to-wear room is red, lined with Rosso Levanto marble and stone mosaic tiles while the men’s ready-towear is green with Verde Menta marble and mosaics. The highjewellery space is blue, lined with dark blue glass mosaic walls punctuated with glimmering gold glass mosaic stars inspired by the 10th-century arched portico of the Basilica at Piazza San Marco. The stair tower space is green, lined in Verde Antigua marble and leads visitors up to a 20-meter long wall mirror which visually and magically doubles the size of each room. The men’s formal-wear rooms are blue and green. They are wrapped in blue silk Damasks made by the historic Venetian Bevilaqcua weavers, and Irish Green and Italian Blue Boquira marbles. The women’s evening-wear room is gold, defined with wood inlaid flooring, brilliant gold Damask and Giallo Siena Marble. The spatial experience crescendos in three exceptional rooms from the 1800’s meticulously restored and finely inhabited with exquisitely designed furniture to accommodate the Dolce & Gabbana’s men’s Sartoria and women’s Serra creations. Given the use of extravagant materials in Venice, one may be forgiven for assuming that they are an essential part of Carlson’s concept of luxury.
“It is a common misconception that materials make the project luxurious. In fact, it is the quality of the ideas, of the strategy and the quality of the fabrication of those ideas that determine a luxurious result. To achieve this level requires resources for the thinking, and for the making of the architecture.” - Eric Carlson, Carbondale founder. The “fabrication” of Luxury for Carlson also extends to using the latest digital technology on offer. “Because Luxury Architecture offers opportunities for exploration, it will likely be at the forefront of how this new technology or new material will be manifested. However, like any material, it’s important to understand that ‘the digital’ is not a solution, but it is only a tool that when combined with ideas can improve practical aspects of our lives but also the way we experience our environment. For our projects, we collaborate with digital specialists who master the technical hardware and software aspects to conceive new ideas. Our BMW Avenue George V Paris Showroom-Museum is an excellent example of how this new type of collaboration can produce innovative digital based ideas.” Closer to home, Carbondale is currently working on a project that also exemplifies Carlson’s concept of luxury but on a much bigger scale. The Plaza Building on Breakwater Island, Abu Dhabi, is a 75,000 square metre black mirrored block of offices, luxury residences and commercial space located along the corniche. Architecturally sculpted to echo the desert dunes, this contemporary building is crowned by a metallic canopy constructed of arabesque geometric patterns. The high-tech canopy is designed to filter the desert sun and supply cooling water vapour establishing a sublime vegetal Urban Oasis. The crowning features include a swimming pool, hammam and restaurant structures conceived as luxurious architectural jewels that glimmer in the desert sun.
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