I joked when we got to Barcelona that there wasn’t an Aesop, and what the hell was I going to moisturize my face with? Cut to like, six months later and a beautifully designed Aesop shop was opened. Located right off of Passeig de Gràcia, in perhaps quite the center of the city, is a beautifully minimalist, perhaps even brutalist, interpretation of the Aesop brand. It’s quite a departure, in my opinion, if you’re familiar with what their other shops tend to look.
The space was designed by Barozzi Veiga, local Barcelona architects, who have done quite a lot with quite a petite space. In their own words:
The store is made up of a few elements, expressive and precise in their position, and with three materials: stucco on the walls and ceilings, terrazzo on the floor, and burnished steel on the columns, the counter, and the display case. It is a simple and complex space at the same time, which aspires to be sophisticated and close, and in a certain way intimate and monumental.
The space does indeed feel monumental. The height of the ceilings are remarkable, it feels almost like a cathedral. I’m really fond of their use of steel, which gives such a Donald Judd energy. I’m seeing steel used like this in so many interior design projects and I’m a huge fan, especially with the way light bounces off the surfaces. Such an exquisite space to experience.
