Architecture is advertising...[BD Online]

“It is perhaps inevitable that luxury brands should invest in architecture design as their primary source of outdoor advertising.”

From Learning from Louis Vuitton by Taro Igarashi in Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture

All architecture has a narrative that defines it. The source of that narrative is always different whether it’s an individual’s personal statement or an organisation’s values. In this sense architecture becomes advertising. Not only is architecture a billboard but a billboard you can walk into: an immersive experience.

No matter who created the narrative it is always the visitor who defines it. Upon entering an architectural space, the visitor engages in a dialogue with it. The building or space communicates with all the senses. The encounter for each individual is unique and has the potential to leave an impression that, if meaningful, will stay subconsciously for some time. It is through the creation of a unique and memorable space that we engage the use of narrative to convey a message. Architecture and interior design represent a powerful tool.

The unforgettable immersive nature of interiors is demonstrated with NY 11-18-02-10, an installation created by London studio Campaign for the luxury brand Dunhill in a New York warehouse for the city’s Fashion Week last year. The installation bridges different interior genres – retail, event and advertising – to transport the visitor into an ethereal interpretation of Bourdon House, the home of Alfred Dunhill in London, offering an opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this extraordinary Georgian house.

             Campaign’s design for Dunhill

As a temporary installation, it only physically existed for two weeks, however due to the memorable experience it created has continued to deliver a message, via magazines, books and online, where the project has been discussed in over 200 blogs and articles to create a lasting memory of the space.

Considering this from a high street retail store’s point of view, interior design represents a valuable medium to deliver a brand story. ‘Architecture is advertising’ is the idea that will transform our high streets into a series of immersive billboards and brand lounges, where the premium of space will be too valuable to cram full with piles of products and instead evolve into alluring, interactive environments - imagine an advert that you can smell, touch and walk around. Brand advertising is not about what we are told but what we experience and how we connect physically and emotionally.

flat and lonely...

we are lonely and we do like flat.

scenario:

we tweet, we facebook, we stare at our phones even when we are out with friends, not to mention we do all that when we are alone with ourselves or alone but among all other people (e.g. travelling on tube or buses).

interpretation:

1. if our 3D physical world where we are in is exciting enough, why would we stare at our 2D phone-screens? apparently the world we are in is not exciting enough, so we prefer looking at the flat screens and get more exciting information from them.

2. even we are with friends, we are still lonely because we are not satisfied to share happiness just with the friends that are right beside us, but we want to share with all other friends we have, even they are on the other side of the world. [and the fact is: even our friends are right there beside us, we will still tweet each other at the same moment...]

respond to point 1, the spaces of shopping are already supposed to be one of the most exciting parts of the physical world...but for it to be more exciting, it is inevitable that the "screen technologies" do their job and friends on the other end of the virtual world give us a company.

_just a little thought

Who owns the consumer? ...by Archinect

At the Retail Technology Conference, which happened April 13-15, retailers were coping with a new phenomenom regarding shopping habits— how smartphone-enriched shoppers are treating bricks-and-mortar retailers like galleries and museums. Macy's CEO, Terry Lundgren, says that traditional stores have to be as interesting as the online experience in the age of wireless.

This interaction of consumer with retail store, mobile phone and wireless internet is referred to as "omni-channel." But, all is not necessarily lost. Brian Kilcourse, of RSR Research, says that 95% of all retail purchases are still fulfilled through the store. Given the fast growth of "omni-channel" shoppers, there are more consumers who are increasingly knowledgeable about both price and information.

Perhaps, the most interesting and most relevant architectural tidbit is this, "retailers need to be able to understand and see into the consumer’s pathway to purchase, and this cannot be done only after a transaction has been made but should also aim to identify pre-demand signals," Joe Skorupa writes paraphrasing Kilcourse.

The rest of the article evolves into a more sinister tone and demonstrates how retailers can "own the consumer" by tracking and guiding the consumer through a collaborative approach involving marketing and information technology. It fails to acknowledge that the shopping experience is not guided by an information architect but by a "bricks-and-mortar" architect. And even for architects who don't dabble in zeros-and-ones, the idea of a consumer who can fly the coop virtually when he or she becomes urged, frustrated or disenfranchised by their current experience will be a very daunting task to manage within the constraints of reality.

Oracle surveyed 1,054 shoppers and found that the number who used mobiles devices while shopping grew by 27% in a single year. Of those, only 29% made a purchase on a mobile device. If the growing number of shoppers continues to become omni-channel shoppers, should the basis of retail design change course?

But, how does one create a store— a real physical place with very real overhead costs— that's designed to not necessarily sell products?

_déjà vu

_thesis printed. i realised something - what i have done for it is way more than what i show...a lot of research are not used. argh... after thesis, i think my first idea strikes back. if they were not spatial...i just have to make them spatial then.

Tr.Y