Story

MYKITA’s first dedicated store has a prime location in the central Mitte district of Berlin. Specifically, it is right between Alexanderplatz (a shopping and transport hub) and Hackescher Markt, a new hive of commercial and creative activity. The latter has in recent years become a magnet for both tourists and big-name firms eager to profit from the proximity and innovation of the many up-market labels, hip design firms and art galleries that have sprung up there. It is also home to a wide range of arts houses, restaurants, bars and a thriving nightlife scene.

The shop carries both MYKITA collections – the full range of sunglasses and prescription spectacles. The metal-frame line is lightweight and elegant, and is partnered by the acetate collection with its bolder, more distinctive form. The shop’s product range is rounded off with selected eyewear and accessories from other brands; in some cases, MYKITA is the exclusive Berlin retailer. The MYKITA Shop is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 8pm.

The MYKITA Shop is a ground-floor space in a concrete residential block at Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 6. The almost perfectly square, 4.5-meter high sales space features exposed concrete walls, an all-white colour scheme and large, single-pane windows directly facing the street; there is also a small back-store service area with an adjacent workshop. The salesroom is defined by two L-shaped walls off-set from each other. Located on the left is a three-meter high display wall accommodating the entire eyewear collection, while the lower right-hand wall serves as a sales/display counter and bar. Obsolete Swissair flight attendant trolleys were turned into a variable table and storage facility that is as such in the centre of the room but can also be repositioned as desired. All surfaces, both on the trolleys and the sales counter, are made of 4cm-thick ashwood. The latter was sandblasted and then treated with lye to produce an appealing surface with a washed-white look.

The design concept, a team effort by MYKITA’s four founders, was based around the shop’s walls and their constituent parts. The former are put together from countless Dexion corner plates, which are normally used as a supporting structure for heavy-load shelves. These elements with an L-shaped cross-section feature a series of holes that – when used as the manufacturer intended – enable a variety of shelf-mounting configurations. After being power-coated with a lustrous white finish, they were set up side by side to form a light-permeable wall. The designers then used the L-shape motif as a basis for the wall arrangement. The display system incorporates a series of small shelves that can be mounted in an unlimited range of positions. The great flexibility of the Dexion shelving system has proved an ideal solution for MYKITA in terms of shelves, desks/work tables and countless other things that need to be sturdy as well as quick and cost-effective to set up. This was ultimately what prompted MYKITA to ”develop” the material and its application. The otherwise grey, industrial-looking material was turned into a stylish wall system that is at the same time ideal in terms of practical convenience, variability and lighting.

The architecture is supported by an interactive neon-light installation featuring two different modes: one during store-opening hours, the other after dark. During the day, the neon lights positioned behind the display walls and sales counter create a pulsating, animation sequence covering the walls. The light passes first through a sheet of white fabric and then through the openings in the Dexion walls and into the room proper – different zones inside the shop begin to glow and pulsate alternately. At the same time, spotlights highlight the products on display.
Once the shop closes, the spotlights are turned off; the room darkens, and the contrasts become more profound. Sensors installed on the façade now take control of the neon lights. They detect movement on the pavement outside and relay this information to the lighting system inside the shop, which then ”follows” passers-by. Given the subdued street lighting outside at night, the result is a fascinating light show that inevitably invites people outside to interact and play with the light. Once the pavement has been vacated, the installation switches to a separate animation sequence, only to be reactivated once somebody approaches.

Links

• http://www.mykita.com
• http://www.gatsbyliving.com
• http://www.theagenc.co.uk
• http://mykitasunglasses.co.uk