Snøhetta Unveils Adaptive Retail Lab in SoHo

International architecture studio Snøhetta has completed a new experiential retail space in New York’s SoHo neighbourhood that is conceived as an ever-evolving canvas for innovation, community engagement and sustainable design.

Located at 113 Spring Street, the 3,000-square-foot, or 279-square-metre, project occupies the ground floor of a landmarked cast-iron building.

GALLERY

Rather than a fixed retail fit-out, the space has been designed as a hybrid environment that operates simultaneously as a store, a community hub and a testing ground for new ideas.

Described by the studio as a lab-like concept, 113 Spring is organised as a series of flexible zones that visitors can experience casually or intentionally through a program of curated activations. The space is guided by rotating themes that change every three to six months, with the opening curation titled Presence is the Present. According to Snøhetta, this initial theme focuses on mindfulness and cognition.

All interventions within the historic interior are intentionally light-touch and reversible, prioritising flexibility and sustainable materials. Upon entry, visitors encounter a curated gallery showcasing products by emerging brands and innovative studios. The display is organised on a shelving system partially enclosed by a curved white scrim partition. Its translucent quality offers glimpses of the interior beyond, designed to draw in passersby and encourage exploration.

Deeper within the space, a Maker Bar provides opportunities for customers to personalise purchases or participate in hands-on workshops. Additional bar-height counters at varying levels and communal tables create informal settings for conversation and events. Opposite these areas, two consultancy rooms are fully colour drenched, one in yellow and the other in orange, while other meeting spaces are also colour coded to define their function.

“This was a rare invitation to embrace ephemerality and sustainability, employing a minimal footprint philosophy that emphasises adaptability and evolution,” said Snøhetta director of interior architecture Anne-Rachel Schiffmann.

Digital content and wayfinding graphics, developed in collaboration with design studios Modem and Field.io, are projected onto fabric partitions throughout the interior. These projections respond in real time to factors such as guest movement, weather conditions and circadian rhythms via an operating system for spatial intelligence known as SpringOS.

Alongside a small food and beverage program designed with nutritional optimisation in mind, 113 Spring will be supported by an internal advisory board spanning multiple disciplines, with oversight from climate-tech and impact reduction consultancy Vaayu.

“Rather than a conventional retail space, 113 Spring reimagines the store not as a place of consumption, but as a site of engagement, education and transformation designed to evolve with the needs of tomorrow,” said Snøhetta.

Images by Hanna Grankvist via Dezeen