Dezeen Magazine

Wonder Room at Selfridges by Klein Dytham Architecture

We're rounding off Dezeen's Klein Dytham day with their recently completed Wonder Room, a major refit of part of the ground floor at Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London.

See our earlier related story about the Wonder Wall at Selfridges

More Dezeen stories about Klein Dytham Architecture:
R3 Ukishima in Naha, Okinawa
Sin Den in Tokyo

Virgin Clubhouse at Narita Airport
Moku Moku Yu baths

Here is the text from KDa:

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Selfridges is fast approaching its 100th year and back when Henry Gordon Selfridge founded the first store on Oxford Street, his vision was to bring wonders from across the globe to amaze and excite his customers. Back then, Selfridges department store was a place where you could find things that could be seen nowhere else, the first public demonstration of television was held on the first floor of Selfridges!

The Wonder Room project was a chance to reintroduce those elements of surprise and wonder to the Selfridges and create a department store for the 21st century. Inspired by the concept of Wunderkammer and Curiosity Cabinets, the Wonder Room is a luxury gifts emporium with the energy of a souk.

The Wonder Room occupies 1,800 sqm of London finest retail space on the ground floor of Selfridges' Oxford Street store. The key element of KDa's design is an elegant wall of fins running around the perimeter of the room, between these fins float crisp display cases.

The idea that brands would have a uniform facade that they would all adhere to seemed a clever idea. Each brand would have beautiful open views into their concession stores, but when seen obliquely the fins become a screen behind which the brands disappear and the focus turns to the central area of the room.

Here, a series of high gloss lacquered blocks form cabinets to house both fine jewellery, exclusive customised mobile phones and over 30 watch brands. Among these lacquered blocks, are a few finished in beautifully crafted gold and silver leaf and mother of pearl shell, bringing yet more references of wonder to the room.

Along Orchard Street KDa has opened up the windows allowing views through new The Wonder Bar and Concept Store area, the two Selfridges-owned spaces that take up their positions behind the fin wall.