Distinctive yellow Belgian bricks of the 1930s and 1960s are reinterpreted in this store designed by architect Bernard Dubois for skincare brand Aesop.
The new Aesop store on Brussels' Rue de Namur occupies the street level of a six-storey building, and features an interior covered in yellow bricks, complemented by brushed aluminium surfaces.
Bernard Dubois designed the Aesop store in Brussels
The yellow bricks are a direct reference to the distinctive brickwork used in buildings across Belgium in the 1930s and again during the post-war period. But rather than laying them horizontally, architect Bernard Dubois chose to arrange them vertically.
"I think most Belgians have a really familiar feeling with this yellow brick," Dubois told Dezeen. "Wherever they see it it makes them feel at home because it reminds them of childhood holidays on the rainy North Sea. But these bricks can be very beautiful and no one has used them for the last 30 years."
Dubois used the yellow bricks typical of Belgian 1930s and 1960s architecture
In their original use, vertically laid bricks were used for the lintels of the buildings to help navigate curves. Dubois' interior features a curved sink unit and counter, so the vertical arrangement allowed the brick to follow the shape of the design.
The architect reversed this pattern to mark out the top of each shelving recess. The pattern is changed again to create a parquet effect on the floor.
The bricks are no longer manufacture...