The stairs designed for Longchamp store in NYC, designed by Heatherwick Studio, can be considered one of the most creative stairs in the US. Eventually, Longchamp established in Paris in 1948 as a maker of fine leather products, then the brand has been on US soil since 1993, as it sold at many high-end luxury specialty and freestanding stores around the world. Stairs are apparently made from glass panels, and are designed to ‘flow and converge’ between walkways and steps on three levels like ‘draping silk’. A sweeping curvature of ribbon-like steel stairs makes Longchamp’s global flagship store in Manhattan utterly unforgettable.
Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio
Heatherwick Studio was invited by Longchamp to design their new global flagship store, a key to repositioning the brand and opening new markets. Thee studio solution for the Longchamp store uses natural light, from a large glazed core cut through the building, to draw people up a landscape, rather than a conventional staircase or escalator, to the floor above.
Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio
“This unusual configuration of space allowed the design team to come up with a design solution that turns this into an advantage; a three storey void cut through the building bringing daylight down and people up a landscape formed by a staircase; a major intervention behind an unassuming façade.”
The Design of The Longchamp Store:
Constructed in 1¼” hot-rolled steel and taking six months to build, the landscape stair weighs 55 tonnes and is an installation that divides and converges to form a topography of walkways, landings and steps. The transparent balustrades are fabricated using aerospace windscreen technology to create a series of individually formed panels that drape with the fluidity of fabric. On the main retail floor, the laminated wood ceiling is sliced open and sections folded downwards, their layers separated further to provide surfaces to display the merchandise.
Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.