How do you brand a building?
When stepping into an office, shop, or hotel, it is common to find interiors that feel ‘on-brand’. Whether through shelving and product displays (in shops), or furniture and fittings (in hotels and offices), interior design is often the go-to application for creating a coherent place-brand.
In Gangnam’s exclusive Cheongdam-dong area, however, designer shops are taking this a step further. Here, buildings are branded from the outside in.
Gucci shrouds itself in greenery; Moncler opts for muted grey slate; Van Cleef & Arpels adorns elaborate metallic latticework; Kia goes for aerodynamic tiling.
This is brand-by-architecture, and it is effective.
On this most expensive road in Gangnam, passers-by are greeted by the brand in the street: an invitation that pulls on the heartstrings, and horrifies the wallet.
