gassan
Location
retail strategy for family owned Gassan Diamonds
Client
Gassan Diamonds
Year
2024
Status
completed
Program
office, atelier and boutique
gassan
Gassan is a family-owned diamond company with a legacy of 80 years rooted in craftsmanship, family values, and timeless perfection. Gassan Diamonds is headquartered on Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat in Amsterdam, in a historic building dating back to 1879, originally designed as a diamond factory. In 1989, it was extensively renovated and repurposed as a diamond workshop, showroom, exhibition space, atelier, retail store, and headquarters.
Gassan Experience HQ
In 2019, Gassan sought to redefine the customer journey, calling it the Gassan Experience. Our design approach for the historic factory – focusing on the entrance, lobby, atelier, and boutique – draws inspiration from a shared sense of craftsmanship and the rich heritage of diamond cutting.
The Boutique
The Boutique is the final space on the visitor route through the headquarters. By relocating the entrance and exit, a clear loop is created, reinforced through varied flooring: a light mineral cast floor surrounds a central walnut wood ‘carpet,’ with seating areas along the façade.
The clear-lacquered wooden ceiling and matte red cast-iron columns define the space’s original character. A glossy aluminum dropped ceiling around the columns visually separates the lower central area from the higher surrounding space, enhanced by a continuous tinted mirror. The central, more intimate area functions as a shop-in-shop for multiple brands, while screens and low partitions provide transparent spatial divisions, unifying the space while allowing each brand’s identity to shine in a controlled, cohesive manner.
Gassan Retail Concept
The boutique served as the blueprint for a broader retail concept. The main challenge was providing sufficient space for shop-in-shops while maintaining the Gassan identity. A set of design principles was established, referencing the historic diamond-cutting factory: wooden ceilings, red steel columns, and varied floor materials define circulation and layout. Custom vitrines, partition walls, and wall cabinets, executed in a refined palette of walnut wood, travertine, and brass detailing, create fixed frameworks in which different brands can express themselves.
Developed in close collaboration with Gassan, the concept originating at the factory and headquarters boutique on Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat evolved into a full retail strategy, now implemented in Rotterdam, Schiphol Airport, Singapore Airport, Eindhoven, and Amsterdam’s luxury shopping street, the PC Hooftstraat.
Gassan Experience HQ
In 2019, Gassan sought to redefine the customer journey, calling it the Gassan Experience. Our design approach for the historic factory – focusing on the entrance, lobby, atelier, and boutique – draws inspiration from a shared sense of craftsmanship and the rich heritage of diamond cutting.
The Boutique
The Boutique is the final space on the visitor route through the headquarters. By relocating the entrance and exit, a clear loop is created, reinforced through varied flooring: a light mineral cast floor surrounds a central walnut wood ‘carpet,’ with seating areas along the façade.
The clear-lacquered wooden ceiling and matte red cast-iron columns define the space’s original character. A glossy aluminum dropped ceiling around the columns visually separates the lower central area from the higher surrounding space, enhanced by a continuous tinted mirror. The central, more intimate area functions as a shop-in-shop for multiple brands, while screens and low partitions provide transparent spatial divisions, unifying the space while allowing each brand’s identity to shine in a controlled, cohesive manner.
Gassan Retail Concept
The boutique served as the blueprint for a broader retail concept. The main challenge was providing sufficient space for shop-in-shops while maintaining the Gassan identity. A set of design principles was established, referencing the historic diamond-cutting factory: wooden ceilings, red steel columns, and varied floor materials define circulation and layout. Custom vitrines, partition walls, and wall cabinets, executed in a refined palette of walnut wood, travertine, and brass detailing, create fixed frameworks in which different brands can express themselves.
Developed in close collaboration with Gassan, the concept originating at the factory and headquarters boutique on Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat evolved into a full retail strategy, now implemented in Rotterdam, Schiphol Airport, Singapore Airport, Eindhoven, and Amsterdam’s luxury shopping street, the PC Hooftstraat.
