Corte Madera, Calif.-based Restoration Hardware has unveiled what is being touted as the luxury furniture purveyor’s grandest venture yet: a 90,000-square-foot, six-story flagship gallery in the heart of New York’s Meatpacking District. Dubbed RH New York, the gallery is housed in a a historic landmark building originally owned by John Jacob Astor in the late 19th century, and reimagined this year by architect and partner of the brand, James Gillam of Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects.
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
The contemporary steel-and-glass structure fitted with cast-iron I-beams and meticulously preserved original brick façade pay homage to the neighborhood’s industrial past.
“The Meatpacking District exhibits a spirit of innovation and irreverence, pointing New York City towards the future while respecting the integrity and authenticity of its past,” said RH chairman and chief executive officer Gary Friedman in a release.
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
The flagship “retail experience” integrates all of RH’s businesses—with entire floors dedicated to RH Interiors, Modern, Outdoor, Baby & Child, TEEN and Interior Design—and includes an art installation by Alison Berger, a rooftop restaurant by local restaurateur Brenden Sodikoff, a wine terrace, and barista bar, all which mark the brand’s recent foray into hospitality. And, for the first time, RH is embedding an Interior Design Firm into its retail experience with five private client presentation rooms.
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
Upon entering RH New York, visitors are greeted with a skylit, six-story central atrium and glass elevator, which leads to each retail concept’s floor and ultimately the rooftop garden.
“We were inspired by that spirit to create a retail experience worthy of such an iconic corner in what is arguably the most important city in the world,” Friedman says.
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
To reach the upper levels, visitors can also ascend a grand double staircase illuminated by art installation “New York Night” by Alison Berger. Composed of 120 hand-blown crystal teardrop pendants cascading 90 feet through the six-story staircase, the piece is designed to evoke “a downpour at nightfall, engaging the viewer in an ever-changing pattern of expansion and compression,” according to the release.
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
Courtesy Restoration Hardware
This article first appeared on Custom Home.
