2016 Gallery
Winner: Best Retail Design
Studio Esteta for Lune Croissanterie
Victoria
The project involved interior alterations to an existing Fitzroy warehouse to house the expansion of Lune Croissanterie.
The interior gestures were intentionally minimal and clinical. The rough and raw quality of the existing warehouse was retained creating contrast against the transparent ‘cube’ insertion that forms a shrine to the croissant.
Jury Citation
Lune Croissanterie is many things all at once: an experience, an event, a showroom for goods, even a shrine complete with altar, all to the greater glory of one thing: the croissant. Taking the concept of laser-focused purpose to a new, higher level, Lune Croissanterie perfectly showcases the prodigious talents required to create this one type of pastry, along with various variations on the core retail theme.
The act of creating and selling what The New York Times has referred to as arguably the worlds best croissant has been given a similarly focused and exceptional interior, where the visitor is stepped through the process of ordering and purchasing as if through a religious observance. As with a religious ritual, the design of the interior is shaped to provide the props, sets and spatial sequences and halting points of human movement that interpret that experience.
Referred to by one juror as the Apple Store of croissants, the interior perfectly manifests the concept of experiential retail and takes it to an almost obsessive, higher level. The result is self-confident yet fabulous, and yet it would all be for nought if the product itself were not up to scratch. Fortunately, there are no problems on that front.
