Flagship store on Bowery and Prince Street, NYC, April-May 2011

Like the recycled-origins of Freitag’s bags, the space we designed evolved from a similar ethos of sustainability. We re-imagined a tapering space on the prominent corner of the Bowery and Prince Street by installing mirrors perpendicular to the space’s two long walls. Freitag installed their own shelving system along these mirrors that, like their product line, is made from recycled materials. The mirrors visually double the length of the space and double the amount of merchandise for sale. 

Functioning as urban archeologists, we removed a few facade layers left from previous incarnations of the storefront until we found signage upon which we could hand-paint the Freitag logo and their mantra, “Individual Recycled Freeway Bags”.

In time, we will add new elements such as free-to-use fixed-gear bikes along the Prince Street facade to make this place more than just a store, but also a contributor to the urban fabric.

For the design and construction, we only had eleven days from the go-ahead until the opening that coincided with the Festival of Ideas for the New City, which the neighboring New Museum initiated.