Horizontal Atelier – Armadillo Melbourne Showroom by Studio Goss
Armadillo returns to Australia with its sixth global physical incarnation, located in a restored warehouse in the heart of Fitzroy. Designed in collaboration with architect David Goss of Studio Goss, this Melbourne showroom reimagines the traditional rug store, cultivating the feeling of a visit to a bespoke tailor’s.
With stores in Los Angeles, New York, Brisbane, Sydney and, most recently, San Francisco, the new Melbourne showroom combines the brand’s international appeal with the charm of the cobbled-verge Fitzroy side street. The original 1915 building is right at home within this eclectic inner-Melbourne community of workshops, art galleries, de-sign studios and heritage mid-Victorian cottages.
David Goss assisted with the design of the new showroom, seeking to honour the history of the building and its surroundings. Originally used to produce furniture for a local business, design elements and materials were selected to honour this industrial past. As David describes, “during the build, we tried to keep as much of the heritage fabric visible as we could but at the same time create a more contemporary layer that represents where Fitzroy is at now.”
The original 1915 building is right at home within this eclectic inner-Melbourne community of workshops, art galleries, de-sign studios and heritage mid-Victorian cottages.
Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and original brickwork all hint at the building’s rich history, now washed in clean white paint to create a luxuriously crisp atmosphere. When clients enter, they are met with a monolithic rectilinear wall, brass name plating setover Cotto Zellige handmade chalk tiles, adding subtle variation and depth to the expansive form. The artisan tiling harks to Armadillo’s own commitment to timeless methods of handmade craftmanship. To the right, a reticulated olive Domo modular sofa offers a supportive place to sit and consider textures, its positioning and length used tactfully to create structure in the generously open atrium without interrupting the flow of the space. Each element is thus considered, explains Jodie Fried, Armadillo Co-Founder. “The materials we chose with David were selected to make the space feel warm and inviting. We wanted to conjure a more refined aesthetic that also made for a compelling contrast against the raw materials of the original façade.”
The centrepiece of the showroom is the sample rail that runs along the western wall of the main space. Evoking the rails of garments that one might find in a tailor’s, the traditional model of stacked or cumbersome rug dis-plays is reimagined, cultivating a more elegant and, arguably, more user-friendly experience. Reimagined in this way, Armadillo’s expansive selection is showcased in a more easily digestible approach, and users can select a sample from the rail and place it on one of the readily adjacent oak surfaces to compare options and engage more deeply with the quality, composition and depth of colour of the Armadillo range.
Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and original brickwork all hint at the building’s rich history, now washed in clean white paint to create a luxuriously crisp atmosphere.
Ethics are at the heart of Armadillo, which prides itself on the use of natural and sustain-able fibres and using Fair Trade practices. The sustainability and environmental impact of the space were as important a consideration in the design of the showroom as they are in the pro-duction of the rugs themselves.
“The Melbourne showroom has an Endorsed Sustainable Design Assessment from the City of Yarra [council], and we’re proud to be using rainwater tanks and solar panels to help offset our greenhouse gas emissions,” ex-plains Armadillo Head of Purpose Alarna Rose. The Melbourne Armadillo showroom offers both trade and retail clients a new mode of engagement with the ever-important decision of choosing a new rug to define their space in an elegantly designed setting. The new showroom creates a serene refuge that invites visitors to engage in a leisurely manner with the Armadillo range. The red brick façade and cement parapet have been completely restored and the inside utterly transformed. The whole effect is undeniably luxurious while remaining true to its humble origins, simultaneously telling the story of the building, the neighbourhood and the brand.
