Kennedy Nolan Architects

Up There Store

Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

Up There Store

Kennedy Nolan Architects

BUILDERS
Emac Constructions

PHOTOGRAPHS
Sean Fennessy

DESIGN TEAM
Patrick Kennedy, Rachel Nolan, Adriana Hanna, Candice Chan, Annie Paxton

YEAR
2023

LOCATION
Melbourne, Australia

CATEGORY
Retail Interiors

As part of a major refresh of the Up There brand, Kennedy Nolan was asked to design a new flagship store on Flinders Lane – a street synonymous with innovation, design, hospitality, and fashion.

Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

The brand refresh provided immediate inspiration, providing a playful palette of saturated color.

We were inspired by the distinctive space: partially subterranean and characterized by a deep plan opening up at its farthest point to the atmospheric urban gloom of Sargood Lane.

Alongside our Clients, we set out a brief for a store interior to be theatrical, cinematic, abstract, curated, expansive, and memorable. We proposed an intense green ground plane.

Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

Green is a key color for Up There but is also a color we feel is oddly grounding – resonant of a grassy field.

The ceilings are an inky green, helping to de-limit the edges by plunging them into shadow.

Merchandise is organized into discrete zones, a ‘concession’ approach that reflects some key characteristics of the brand – curating and displaying stock in themes, providing scope for collaborations, events, and exclusive releases.

Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

Up There want to be a good host to their customers – as such, there is an emphasis on places to hang out in the store.

While all spaces are social, at the very end of the store there is a large table and generous banquettes; a spot to try on some trainers, have a coffee from the in-house café or patiently lie on the banquette willing your friend to make a decision, or regret the night before.

Upon entering, the customer is greeted by a flight of three steps with a tactile surface, signaling the entry into another state by altering the sensation underfoot and delivering them to the soft floor plane of carpet.

Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

From there, they move through a gathering of suspended bust forms and emerge into the store proper.


Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy
Up There Store
© Sean Fennessy

Kennedy Nolan Architects
T +61 3 94158971
Kennedy Nolan Architects
61 Victoria St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia