here is an another installment on my snapshoot series 1, 2. this time i snuck my camera into prada's beverly hills store to take somewhat rare pictures for you to look.
i remember seeing the stair / display detail idea at least 20 years ago in soho, new york (forgat which business it was, could it be comme des garcons?).
this prada store is a first building / interior i've ever seen by rem koolhaas and to be honest with you, it didn't made me say "god damn, it is good".
i wouldn't be surprised there are much more interesting stores than this one and there were no revolutionary concept in merchandising in it either. surface here and surface there.
sales staff ratio was 1 to 1 inside. after taking my last secret picture, i asked one of the salesgirl if i could take a picture and she said "noooo, sorrry", but little she knew, it was too late. their loss is your gain.!
proud huh?



















in the mean time, directly across the street;
frank was in the neighborhood first..

One of my friends used to work for the contractor that did this job, in the trailer out back, and she got us a hardhat tour of it a few years ago. She was also able to give us a little insight into the project- the rumored concept of the building was "The ultimate luxury is wasted space", which annoyed me to even think about. Anyway, it's good to see it done, but I'm sad that they felt the need for caution signs over the glass spots.

I was there over the summer. While I enjoyed the building (I think it's better than the library here in Seattle), it didn't really do much for me. We got yelled at by the salespeople for bringing our Jamba Juices in there and it was cool to see the big door/wall rise out of the ground at closing time (although they could've chosen a much more pleasant sounding warning siren IMO)...

After that, my friends and I headed up to Robertson to throw In N Out Burgers at Nicole Richie as she was coming out of Kitson, then we boozed it up on The Standard's rooftop... Good times...

from the amount of shoppers i'd say business ain't too good.

i like the "slippery floor" signs on the entry bubbles.

shiity building for shitty clothing

ditto. i wonder how much was spent on this one. the one in nyc is rumored to be 60 mil.... plus, reportedly the project is responsible for putting zebrawood on the endangered species list! its a shame that it's totally oxidized in the path of traffic since they used aluminum at the entry and bridge which is tracked on the shoes of everyone who goes through the space. unbelievable!

Good example of how OMA drops the ball. Hard. Over and over again...

why don't they let you take pictures?

i think they have a legitimate reason not to let people take pictures inside, because privacy issues with their customers and i noticed at least five couples taking pictures from the sidewalk at any given moment. most common @ prada is, you let your friend climb the stairs and look at you while you snap a picture from the sidewalk where they can't stop you..
rodeo drive in beverly hills one big 'look at me i am in front of _______ mom' scene. specially with digital cams you have to be constantly aware who's picture you are walking into.

Nice Orhan...

I don't thinks its a terrible project. And I likey the ceiling/skylights.

the arrangement of the travel bags on the stairway is clearly a terrorist signal.

piso mojado!!!!!!!!!!

i'll put this out there for all you rem haters but i love the guy. something about him facinates me. i have been to beverly hills yet, but the prada store in nyc is one of my favorite architectural statements. i dont really have a particular reason to say why, but the fenestration and spaces to me are just interesting.
i think the one in nyc was around 40 mil, not 60. i could be wrong. nevermind. heres the link that i read that:
link
take a look at how bad prada is in debt.

they forgot to paint the damn drywall...fuckin' hippies

I thought the caution plastic signs were part of the 'installation art' vibe! Which reminds me of the time I stood staring at a fire extinguisher in a modern art gallery once, to see how many other people would (2).
And there's milage in the 'ultimate luxury of wasted space' maxim... miles and miles and miles of it.

the entire reason for "starictecture" is to take a freaking picture in front of it.

I guess it is kinda like being a tourist and just having to have a Picture of Mount Rushmore.

i guess it has some nice "dutch"-y elements in terms of retail displays/design. check out "fresh facts" for some more dutch architecture in the realm of commerce/retail... i'd have to say, although it may not be SO impressive, the ideas are fun, almost whimsical...

at this point, rem does whatever he wants, and its nice to see a person act within that realm of architecture... one few ever achieve.

i mean, the way he works is similar to me building legos when i was 4. take simple, yet intriguing ideas and just let them play out. the actual physicality of spaces are almost like residual effects of these notions/ideas he interjects... and often it may be off-scale or even a little goofy... but more often than not, i enjoy the space that results.

displays on staircases??? Screw function, it looks cool, right?

in academia that's called "hybrid programming"

some parts of the store look very claustrophobic.

just south of prada, is what i call 'bonanza ramp', where a royal guard stands in front of a jewellery store with a wooden rifle.
i call it bonanza ramp because whenever i go by there, i have this sensation that bunch of cowboys are going to ride their horses down towards me screaming yeehoows. strange feeling but true. i have been there twice in twenty years and i got the same feeling both times. i think the place has an italian name. anybody know?

what a coincidence...

I'm laughing my ass off.
i bet you thats the strange connection i am/was trying to get to the bottom of it. but i think the royal guard was veering me off. thank you thank you.

I was taking pictures this morning along the longest straight city street in the world. I've learned it's better if I don't listen to any suggestions that enter my mind.

Its called Rodeo 1. WTF is "bonanza ramp"? LMAO

I love that green plastic, porous wall anyway :p..
they had done many casting experiments, with steel and plaster as well..

there is a nice parking ramp under 'via rodeo' - one of the first examples of privatized public spaces for retail that tried to blend in with the urban fabric...

the hole vitrines are cool (slippery when wet - when is LA wet?), but pointless unless they keep replacing the glass so you can see into them.

'he used to do surgery. on girls in the 80's'

'he used to do surgery. on girls in the 80's'

'he used to do surgery. on girls in the 80's'

sorry, finger spasm

For being so well recognized thru out the world, Rodeo Drive is nothing special, they don’t even have all the high end boutiques , instead they have BCBJ and Bernini ec.

The Rite Aid is... meh.

I'm about to get this phone on wednesday yay! Um what company is it with, will it work on my 3 sim card? If not who will i be with?
thnx pradafan.com

So... Rem and Prada. I saw this http://www.oma.eu/index.php?option=com_projects&view=portal&id=234&Itemid=10 and thought that it was real.... I went around the block several times in San Francisco last summer. I guess my research was not so good. I did find a Prada store, but it was not interesting at all. Just a nice door man who tried to talk me into buying sunglasses, and told me I couldn't take pictures. But I didn't really want to.

OMG, the interior looks like an espirit shop^^

what? i don't know what that means.

there is no esprit shop in US?

http://www.esprit.com/