Winning first place in the custom ornamental category in the MCA Design Awards for Excellence in Metal Architecture, the Metal Construction Association recognized member company, MG McGrath, last month at METALCON ’22. MG McGrath fabricated and installed an impressive 5,000 square feet of plate paneling in a Simply White Kynar finish for the store’s facade.
The MCA Design judges remarked, “A notable feature of the façade is its sculptural form, with window boxes that extend over the sidewalk. A gap of about 11 inches between the façade’s metal screen and the building’s exterior wall, creates a shadow of the screen’s pattern on the wall when the sunlight hits at certain times throughout the day and at night, the building lights up, giving a sense of depth.” They also noted how the design could only be done with metal.
“The facade was inspired by Marcel Wanders Studios’ reinterpretation of the classic and iconic Louis Vuitton motif” MG McGrath
According to MG McGrath, the Louis Vuitton retail store in the Miami Design District is the first freestanding LV men’s store in the United States and the second in the world. The store features over 3,500 square feet of space that honors the Miami Design District with its modern industrial theme featuring exposed concrete, work from local artists, and blue leather handrails. The store is a tribute to Virgil Abloh, the Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director who passed just before the store’s opening.
PROJECT SCOPE
The white plate panels were laser cut and feature a custom, one-of-a-kind, perforated design. Marcel Wanders Studios once created a brass and leather partition for Louis Vuitton by reimagining the design of the historic LV monogram on the classic Louis Vuitton trunks and canes. The design for the facade was inspired by this piece from the Objets Nomades collection called “Diamond Screen”. The MG McGrath team also installed tracks for the backlighting and stainless steel accent pieces. Installation from start to finish took less than three months.
Project Team:
MCA Member Company: MG McGrath
Architect: AGA Architects
Metal Installer: MG McGrath
Contractor: Dickinson Cameron
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