Client: Patagonia
Design: MNA
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Size: 550 sq m
Completion time: 6.5 months
Michael Neumann Architecture (MNA) was commissioned by Patagonia to design its new clothing store in New York’s Meatpacking District.
The location has a rich history – most of it involving meat processing and packing, unsurprisingly enough, but as with the gentrification of many former working-areas of Manhattan, the Meatpacking District is now on-trend. So after a renovation in 2008 transformed a former meat distribution house into offices and retail space, Patagonia snapped up an opportunity to move in.
The old distribution depot, which dated from the 19th century, was stripped of most of its original architectural elements in the renovation, with only the red brick facade surviving.
Patagonia wanted to revive the history of the location for its new store so MNA set about the task of reinjecting some original meatpacking elements into the design.
To this end the Manhattan-based practice looked at historical photographs to reference the original architecture and materials used in the past. Using locally sourced reclaimed timber and brick along with new tile, raw steel and wired glass the architects recreated some of the industrial features that would have been in the building in its earlier working life.
Reclaimed original face natural-edge long-leaf heart pine, sourced from industrial facilities and warehouses throughout New York City, provided the flooring. The wood slightly varies in colours, with lighter and darker patches imitating the effects of wear and tear, giving shoppers the impression that is was the original timber used in the 19th century.
The fitting rooms’ ceilings are made from corrugated steel and spotlights, sourced from Magnalight, are hidden between timber slabs placed to look like exposed rafters of the industrial distribution depot. But the piece-de-resistance of the space is a fully functioning, stainless-steel meat rail custom-made for the store by LeFiell Company, and used instead of the usual garment racks used in clothing retail.
The location of the store is unique, and MNA’s design reflects this perfectly.
Words by Emily Black
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