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Louis Vuitton , Miami, Fla.
from Architectural Products - March/April 2023
by Buildings & Construction Group
How do you design a façade that fits a fashion icon?
Coating
Kynar Simply White coats the screen adorning the Louis Vuitton store. With the variations in the heat and humidity of the South Florida environment, it provides resistance to chemicals, moisture, and corrosion, and protects the painted surface against UV and radiation damage.
Kynar kynar500.arkema.com
Depth and Lighting
An 11-in. gap between the façade’s metal screen and the building’s exterior concrete wall creates a dynamic play of light and shadow throughout the day. At night, 500 RGB LED track lights were concealed into the exterior structure with custom clips and tray channels. The lights were carefully positioned to wash the building in even, uniform light, without exposing passersby to light leakage.
The iconic luxury brand Louis Vuitton sited its first freestanding men’s specialty store in the U.S. in Miami’s Design District. Obviously, making a splash in one of the most stylish neighborhoods in Magic City was critical and so the design team at AGA-NYC partnered with MG McGrath, an architectural sheet metal contractor who specializes in custom architectural exterior enclosure systems. The idea was to create an ornate façade that would catch the eye and garner the approval of even LV’s most discerning clientele. The team created an award-winning exterior façade that featured an intricate, custom pattern carved into metal panels.
“The exterior of the store is where the architects, AGA-NYC, and the owners wanted to express the elegance and prestige of the brand,” says Mike P. McGrath, son of the firm’s founder, and head of operations.
The pattern decorating the building exterior is described by designer Marcel Wanders as an architectural rework of the brand’s iconic Diamond Screen pattern. To achieve this incredible visual, the emblematic Louis Vuitton monogram was reinterpreted in a modernist architectural style and laser-cut into the metal. In total, MG McGrath fabricated and installed 5,000 sq. ft. of this patterned plate paneling.
The white metal screen was affixed over the top of the in-place concrete façade. Rather than being a flat surface, the screen’s sculptural form is augmented by several projecting window boxes that extend over the sidewalk below, enhancing the pattern and creating a sense of movement.
The play of light and shadow also create a dynamic presence on the façade—day and night. The exterior assembly features an 11-in. gap between the metal screen and the concrete façade. During the day, shadows shift in relation to the position of the sun. At night, 500 RGB LED track lights concealed in the structure wash the exterior in color-changing light.
The Metal Construction Association awarded the store first place in the custom ornamental category, giving its prestigious MCA Design Awards for Excellence in Metal Architecture to MG McGrath at METALCON ’22.
