Premier Retail

AMD Projects

AMD
Written by Roma Publications

AMD Projects

 AMD

AMD Interior Architecture is an Architectural Design practice. Made up of a group of talented designers and architects, the company works closely with their clients to innovate and create leading brand experiences for retail, leisure and commercial customers. With a contemporary view point, interior projects undertaken by the company respect and react to the existing architecture of a building, as well as the client’s identity.

Managing Director of AMD Interior Architecture, Andrew Martin spoke to Premier Retail magazine about some of the company’s latest projects.

John Smedley

The John Smedley store located on Jermyn Street, London is the second stand alone store for the company. The store design has been influenced by their 1784 mill factory, which is still in operation in Derbyshire and the Quest Foundation, set up to help British craft. A simple, honest and modern approach has been used with commissions from David Mellor Design, light pendants and Tara Osborough fabric. The store tells the story of the John Smedley brand and showcases their exquisite knitwear.

Andrew said: “The shop is only one floor so it is quite a small store. What is nice about it is that it has a wide shop front and a large presence on the street. It was a great opportunity and we have worked on Jermyn Street before and it is a good street that is moving forward at the moment.”

The main contractors on the John Smedley development were Garenne Construction.

Andrew added: “I think the customers like the fact that it is very different to the Brook Street store. The Brook Street store is similar but you have a lot of that natural light on Jermyn Street, which makes it very light and that makes a huge difference. The feedback has been very good from the customers, not only the regular customers on Brook Street, but new customers as well.”

AMD

Aquascutum

Established in 1851, Aquascutum were responsible for providing coats for officers in the Crimean War, as well as trench coats worn by soldiers of all ranks in both world wars.

AMD has launched four stores for Aquascutum including Great Marlborough Street, Jermyn Street and Westfield.

A very modern and clean design approach was used at the Westfield store, reinforcing the companies modern, progressive strategy backed up by traditional values. AMD were asked to make a bold brand statement in the double height store with fascias consisting of 760 gloss white and gold cubes which echo the brands check pattern.

“We have got to make sure that people see the brand as modern,” said Andrew. “They are very aware of that and are keen to move in a more modern direction. At the Great Marlborough Street store we were reacting to the building and introduced modern elements such as panelled elements that interacted with the rooms. Since then, we have moved in a more modern direction because the brand doesn’t want to stay still, it wants to be seen as a modern and forward thinking brand.”

Jigsaw

AMD has been working with Jigsaw for over 15 years and recently completed worked on the companies store on The Strand.

The brief for The Stand was to give the Nigel Coats designed store a fresh new image. Working with and expanding upon the soft architecture of the interiors, AMD inserted and cut away areas to form fitting rooms and merchandising opportunities.

Andrew commented: “We made the whole space feel as one with soft curvy walls and ceilings, a new lighting system, which again had soft curves, and we created a very soft shell which we then cut into with hard boxes, fitting rooms and areas for stock and shelves.

“It has gone down great and Jigsaw really loves the store. It is trading more than the original store was so it is going really well.”

Commenting on working with established brands such as John Smedley, Aquascutum and Jigsaw and maintaining those reputable relationships, Andrew concluded: “We are delighted to work with them. It means that we are able to realise our ideas in a way that they previously may not have been realised. With a lot of smaller independents it can be hard to do that but we get a lot of opportunity with these clients.

“We have been growing in the industry and we have been around for a long time and have done some relatively important shops. I enjoy the work that we do and the relationships that we have with our clients.”

 

 

 

 

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