28th September 2020

Perega earns its (Three) Stripes on award-winning Adidas store

Adidas is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, with its iconic logo and ‘Three Stripe’ motif making a massive impact on the global cultural scene from fashion and couture to sport, music and film.

When it came to the design of Adidas’s award-winning Oxford Street outlet, the company knew it needed to create a visually striking and enticing space to stand out from the fierce competition in the surrounding area.

In development for over three years, Perega was involved in the ambitious five-storey project from the very beginning, before the landlord began converting the building’s shell structure from office to retail. This allowed us to influence the shell works, ensuring the floor plate and three-storey entrance atrium were to Adidas’s requirements

Another important task during the early stages was the design and planning of the scenic lift and the main staircase, which would cantilever from and wrap seamlessly around the central lift shaft. This was challenging work as it had to be completed during the landlord’s shell works, before any other design elements were fully developed.

Aside from the design of other staircases within the space, we also helped to deliver unobtrusive, yet robust, support for the store’s numerous digital display features.

Adidas wanted to create the most digital retail outlet in The West End, with smart mirrors, iPad consoles and immersive audio-visual installations. The larger of these items were hung and the support we developed had to be aesthetically pleasing or hidden. This included the support for the impressive digital chandelier and transparent display screens, hung in the façade’s double height ground floor windows.

Challenges were faced early on in the fit-out design, especially regarding the load-bearing capabilities of the structure which was inadequate to lay screed on. Working closely with the main contractor, Powells, an alternate lightweight solution was proposed to allow work to go ahead with minimal delay.

The client wanted exposed concrete blockwork walls within the store. However, like the issues with the screed, the structure was inadequate to support this weight. Instead, block slips were glued to stud walls to reduce the weight but maintain the same aesthetic.

Senior engineer on the project, Sam Coleman said, “Our work on Adidas’s new Oxford Street store is a great example of collaboration throughout the construction journey. The client’s design team had ambitious ideas for the space, and we helped them to realise their vision within the boundaries of what’s possible. I particularly enjoyed the open dialogue we maintained on the project. A healthy and structured process of analysis, reflection and mutual compromise meant we were able to overcome challenges and create a unique, structurally adept interior, which will appeal to customers and influence purchasing decisions.”

He continues, “I have a deep respect and admiration for Adidas’s design team whose creativity is unmatched. The scope and the scale of the project is breathtaking, and this has been borne out with the recent win of a highly coveted World Retail Award for Outstanding Store Design. We look forward to working with the brand again in the near future.”

Throughout the Adidas Oxford Street project, Perega worked closely with other members of the design team, including: Mace, Powells, DB3 Architecture, Brinkworth Design and Quadrant Design.

For more examples of Perega’s expertise within this field, visit our “Retail Sector” page.