Aesop Sydney by Snøhetta – Commercial retail architecture and Design

Designed by internationally renowned design office and trusted collaborator Snøhetta, Aesop’s Pitt Street store is a celebration of the company’s passage to fruition over the last three decades, and will become a guiding light for the next stage of the brand’s development.

Founded in Melbourne in 1987, Aesop has long been heralded as one of the finest advertisements of quality Australian design on the world stage. From humble beginnings in the late 80’s Aesop today offers its superlative formulations in stores across the globe. As the company evolves, meticulously considered design remains paramount to the creation of each space. As many can attest to, a visit to an Aesop store is as much about the experience, as it is about the products.

Aesop and Snøhetta’s long-standing partnership began with a store in Norway; this is Snøhetta’s first Australian Aesop store.

Stepping inside Aesop’s newest store, visitors are greeted by a monumental granite structure that wraps the interior of the sandstone building. The interiors are inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 1968-9 Wrapped Coast, a piece which rendered the sandstone cliffs of Little Bay a theatrical, lunar landscape. Aesop Sydney ultimately brings the magnitude and equanimity of coastal escarpments to the bustling downtown environment of Sydney’s central business district.

“Visiting Australia gave me the emotional connection to what we were undertaking—Aesop’s largest space todate. There was a desire to make a space that would withstand an unprecedented level of use. That it would have the spirit of all that is great about Aesop. That it would have an environment that is soothing, calm, transforming.” – Peter Girgis, Snøhetta.

While sandstone is the prevailing local geology, granite, an igneous rock known for its strength and durability, lines the pavements of the Sydney CBD, the location for Aesop Sydney. The store’s façade holds the contrasting tones of sandstone and granite in tender dialogue. Hewn by a local stonemason, the granite’s texture is poised between the natural and the ordered. Horizontal ridges, scored by a bridge-saw, introduce a consistency of pattern while the stone’s hand-chiseled face expresses its fault-lines and idiosyncrasies.

Located on Pitt Street’s pedestrian mall, this generous store is an opportunity to grow with Aesop’s diverse clientele.Every design decision was based on the company’s commitment to hosting customers in a considered and personalised way.” - Denise Neri, Aesop.

“This store is true to the spirit that’s present in all Aesop stores,” states Peter Girgis of Snøhetta. “It feels like an evolution.” Expanding on this sentiment he goes on to state, “the question is: how can a monumental space give a feeling of comfort and intimacy? Imagine you’re in a cathedral or a vast valley. Yes, there’s a feeling of greatness, but there’s also a sense of smallness, of introspection, of perspective. This contradiction is where our design sits.”

Visitors decompress across the set-back threshold, which unfolds into a vast granite chamber. An immense stainless steel counter with a proliferation of basins welcomes exploration of Aesop’s skin, hair, and body care products, distinguished by botanical and laboratory-generated ingredients of the highest quality. At the heart of the store, stone steps rise into an amphitheater where visitors might gaze upon a film, or simply pause and reflect. Three staggered sinks allow for more private and extensive encounters with Aesop’s skin care philosophy, formulations, and application techniques, evoking the comfort of one’s own home while guided by knowledgeable consultants.