New York City, NY and Boston, MA––April 7, 2008— Shawmut Design and Construction (www.shawmut.com), a leading national construction management firm, has completed construction of a new, larger international flagship boutique for Chopard, 147-year-old luxury watch and fine-jewelry company. Located at the corner of Madison and 63rd Street in Manhattan, Chopard hopes the store, designed by renowned architect Thierry Despont (inducted into Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame in 1996), will become "a superb shopping environment for the international luxury customer."
The two-story, 2,600 square foot store, which opened in fall 2007, encompasses the traditional, warm, and inviting corporate identity seen in Chopard’s other locations worldwide, yet remains innovative and modern. The space was originally home to Timberland, a rugged store that was defined by exposed brick, timber, structural steel, and mechanicals. With a rusted exterior, the team stripped the façade down to metal and restored the building to its landmark original condition. The store was a blend of rustic and industrial features, which were transformed into a delicate and fine jewelry store, including shifting the exposed steel and timber central staircase to one end of the store to open up sales floor space.
With private alcoves for guests to view the wondrous jewelry pieces, the space was designed to integrate state-of-the-art technology seamlessly into the traditional decor. The designer created custom rotating vitrines for the eighteen foot tall windows featuring LCD monitors, which run 24 hours a day and merging classic function and futuristic design. Wall panels on the main floor were fabricated using 7,000 square feet of Rift White Oak veneer panels and 2,100 linear feet of hardwood moldings in a Cerused finish. Full height “star fire” glass panels run the length of the 35 linear foot mezzanine and bear the Chopard logo in moon gold leafing imbedded within the glass. On the main floor, one wall is wrapped in exquisite leather surrounding a stone fireplace. The wood fixtures and design details took almost 3,000 hours of finish carpenter work in the field to complete.
Shawmut Design and Construction’s New York-based Retail Group has extensive expertise in constructing many of New York’s most creative, unique and challenging flagships and shopping destinations including the SoHo flagship of Longchamp, the Madison Avenue boutique of Tom Ford, Apple’s famous cube on 5th Avenue, Zegna, the flagships of Louis Vuitton and Chanel, and many more.
About Shawmut Design and Construction
Shawmut Design and Construction is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Boston with offices in New York, Providence, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New Haven. Shawmut is a leading ENR top 100-ranked national construction management firm providing client-oriented services in the following markets: Academic, Commercial, Corporate Interiors, Cultural and Historic Preservation, Healthcare and Science, Gaming, Restaurants, Retail, Spas and Health Clubs. For more information, visit Shawmut’s website at www.shawmut.com.
