The Turner Contemporary in Margate is one of the country’s leading cultural destinations outside London, and now there’s one more reason to visit the David Chipperfield Architects-designed, world-renowed centre for art – the launch of a brand-new minimalist shop interior, courtesy of London-based studio Daytrip. The retail architecture project marks ten years after the Margate seafront art hub’s grand opening.
Invited by cultural consultancy The Seeking State, the design studio divised careful plans to refresh the Turner Contemporary’s shop area, which sits right by the main entrance and next to the gallery spaces. Daytrip drew inspiration from Chipperfield’s majestic, pared-down architectural approach, as well as the wider context.
‘It was felt that the new renovation should not only relate to the architecture but should reflect JW Turner’s admiration for Margate, and the surrounding landscape and light qualities, as well as speak to the community and enhance a local narrative that is rich with creativity,’ say Daytrip founders Iwan Halstead and Emily Potter.
The building’s poetic minimalism is reflected on the shop’s interior concept. A neutral colour palette and sleek, unfussy materials make up the internal envelope, while the large openings, with long views of the sea, remain a key protagonist in the space. The existing poured screed flooring, linear glazing and prominent ribbed concrete ceiling were taken as cues for the interior’s new composition, internal arrangement and overall rhythm.
A series of bespoke display tables, shelving and plinths are moveable around the space to provide flexibility. The uncluttered look feels calm and even ethereal, using soft, dappled grey veneer panels, metal frameworks in brushed stainless steel and rippled textured glass. A specially designed workbench that nods to a maker’s workshop sits at the space’s heart – though everything can be rearranged as needs dictate.
More humble materials in muted tones, including matt, white oiled oak (‘chosen for its sandy tonality and honest craftsmanship’, explain the designers), grey Valchromat, and a lacquered wood fibre board set the mood that was conceived to celebrate Turner Contemporary’s architecture and the seaside setting’s colour and tones. §
