Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia
Founded in Los Angeles as a boho-chic accessories maker (its first big hit was the half moon–shaped Ark tote), Cult Gaia has flourished into a full-blown fashion empire that now offers everything from gowns and shoes to jewellery and fragrances — and, true to its name, it commands a very devoted following. With that in mind, NYC-based architecture and interiors firm Sugarhouse decided to model the brand’s Miami Design District flagship on traditional temple architecture.
Inspired by the procession of spaces that typically define places of worship, the 140-square-metre store is divided into three distinct zones built along an axial plan. The sun-soaked front area condenses to a narrow hallway as it passes between the store’s two enclosed change rooms, each contained within a glowing volume wrapped in individually chiselled sandstone blocks that double as display shelving. On the other end of the shop, a back lounge filled with soft seating leads to Cult Gaia’s true inner sanctum: a matcha bar. Throughout, simple brass rods showcase a selection of stylish clothing — but the space is really designed to be a spiritual retreat first and a retail environment second.
The project pays tribute to the sacred power of nature in numerous other ways — as well as to marvels of art and architecture. A pair of ceiling domes introduces two 2.13-metre-wide oculi that showcase the beauty of the sky, a feature lifted from another monumental temple: the Pantheon in Rome. Under one skylight, a 4.27-metre-tall banyan tree is installed as part of a 5.79-metre-long serpentine sofa. Under the other stands a 3.66-metre-tall concrete sculpture of a woman created by artist Angela Larian — the mother of Cult Gaia founder Jasmin Larian Hekmat.
The design strikes another deeply personal note in honouring the Larians’ Persian heritage. The store’s facade is covered in a 1,800-tile tree of life mural by ceramics artist Michael Chandler as a nod to Henri Rousseau’s fantastical nude The Dream. Its blue shades reference lapis lazuli (a fixture of Persian mosques), and one of Hekmat’s family mottos — “May all the doors of the world always be open to you” — is written above the front entrance. Fashion trends may come and go, but clearly, Cult Gaia appreciates the divine appeal of timeless design.
Team: Jess Nahon and Jonathan Nahon
Sugarhouse decided to model Cult Gaia’s Miami Design District flagship on traditional temple architecture.
