The DWR New York flagship store occupies 20,000sf on four floors of a new construction office building at the intersection of 57th street and 3rd avenue.
Project Name: Flagship Store
Studio Name: Büro Koray Duman
Out of 20,000sf, only 750 sf. of the floor space was at ground level/ storefront, creating an important design challenge on how to capture pedestrian traffic from a small ground floor footprint into the sale floors.
To create a powerful impact, the floor areas above ground floor were removed on both 2nd and 3rd floor. The design inserts a floating red box in that triple height space, providing a 24’ ceiling height at the ground floor. The color and position of this key design element works as an unexpected gesture that brings all four floors and draws people in from the street. The floating box creates a strong brand identity in the street as well as accommodates a duplex apartment.
The two story duplex inside the store plays on the voyeuristic experience one has living in New York, where one always looks into other apartments..
Büro Koray Duman
B-KD (Büro Koray Duman) is a research-driven architecture and design studio based in New York City and Istanbul. We believe that architecture should be functional and unexpected; engaging and poetic; and experimental and affordable. Combining innovative design solutions with socially conscious ideals, we aim to redefine the relationship between contemporary architecture and the complexity of urban intervention. We pride ourselves on promoting awareness of cultural diversity through the participation of urban communities while navigating intricate spatial constraints to activate underutilized urban environments.
- We create spaces for the production of emerging cultural narratives.
- We strive to design hybrid public spaces that perform in multiple ways.
- We act as instigators of change, progress, and innovation.
- Our research projects tackle the challenges of repurposing underused or obsolete urban infrastructure to plan for a dynamic, vibrant future of lasting value.
- We cross boundaries and overcome barriers. We embrace collaborative work and seek out audacious community partners.
- We favor a considered and sensitive design approach that strives to apply and critically communicate evidence-based research findings through bold spatial and cultural narratives.
B-KD works across all typologies and scales. We are developing a transcendent vision of architecture. If it challenges us, we’re on board.
We have created spaces for artist Richard Prince, American Society for Muslim Advancement, Council for Fashion Designers of America and Design Within Reach. Our work has been featured in publications like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Surface Magazine, Cultured Magazine, Interior Design Magazine, Architectural Record and Dwell.
In 2017, Architizer honored B-KD as Emerging Firm of the Year for ‘its forward-thinking vision for the role of the architect and the desire to disrupt the stigma of the practice’. We received the 2017 Design Award of Excellence by Society of American Registered Architects, 2015 Best of the Year Award by Architect’s Newspaper and HIP Award at NeoCon 2014.
In 2016, we were selected for the NYC Department of Design & Construction’s DCE (Design and Construction Excellence 2.0) program.
B-KD is an LGBTQ-owned company. The studio was established in 2012 by Koray Duman and has a team of architects that represent a diverse mix of nationalities and experiences from around the world.
Koray:
Koray Duman, AIA, LEED AP, is originally from Turkey where he earned a BArch from Middle Eastern Technical University. Koray furthered his studies at UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design with a Master’s degree in Architecture. He previously worked as the lead architect on several west coast museum projects. After co-founding Sayigh Duman Architects in 2009, he established B-KD in 2012. Koray is the chair of New Practice Committee at AIA NY, a board member of the Clemente Center, on the advisory board of American Society for Muslim Advancement and ProtoCinema and a member of Leadership Council at Van Alen Institute.
In collaboration with these organizations, Koray invests in the social, cultural and ecological challenges of our built environment and explores innovative strategies in architectural practice, in response. He is an adjunct professor at Pratt Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design. He has previously taught at New School and RPI. He is a registered architect in New York State and Turkey.
