Mendocino: Yorkdale II
Toronto, Ontario
[id] Retail
226 sqm | 2430 sqft
2016
 
Project Team large [medium] design office
Nadia Cannataro, Francesco Martire
Structural RJC 
Mechanical The Hidi Group
Electrical Hammerschlag and Joffe

Photographs Scott Northsworthy
Mendocino is a Canadian retailer catering to the style conscious woman. The client requested a multi-functional and social space for varying conditions and a space evoking qualities of a refined rawness. 

The two key elements of the project are the storefront with its undulating volumes and the internal centerpiece, a space we have termed the retail piazza.


The storefront is a striking composition of a hot rolled steel clad box, and folded wood plane. The steel clad box contains the word mark and moves forward to its maximum allowable projection to announce the store. The folded wood plane undulates from foreground at the upper level to background at the lower level where it becomes a backdrop for the storefront display and a framing device to highlight merchandise within the store interior.

The project’s central space is the retail piazza: the hub of the store. The intention was to explore and leverage the social aspect of the shopping experience. Much like the energetic piazzas of Europe the space is a void in the plan with distinct edges creating opportunities for a charged space filled with activity and interaction between staff and shoppers alike. The retail piazza is defined by a volumetric shift, a change in flooring material and a change in ceiling expression. The retail piazza is a social condenser to encourage conversation, exchanges of ideas, suggestions and opinions about the merchandise. It promotes the idea of a collective community and encourages social interaction as part of the shopping experience.




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