Projects

Anabela Chan Joaillerie

Anabela Chan store terrazzo floor InOpera

Architects
Jimmy Hung, Heatherwick Studio

Location
Knightsbridge, London

Materials used
Torcello terrazzo, Calacatta terrazzo

In September 2020, amidst the uncertainties of London’s lockdown, an exciting new location on Sloan Street in Knightsbridge – the flagship store of Anabela Chan – opened its doors to the virtual public. Chan’s ethical and sustainable fine jewellery often dons celebrities on red carpets and movie scenes. InOpera Group is pleased to add this prestigious and precious store in our list of central London projects.

Despite lashings of bloom and pastels, Chan’s design always comes across sophisticated with meticulous dedication to craft and materials. Her fine pieces are made from recycled aluminium in iridescent hues and lab-grown stones, utilising technique which took her several years to perfect.

For the design of her boutique, Chan collaborated with the architect Jimmy Hung from Heatherwick Studio. The London-based practice is well-known for its design and construction of soulful and interesting places and structures. Materials, making and sustainable innovations are the core principles that unite the two creative houses.

The space was planned to complement Chan’s colourful, award-winning ethical jewellery pieces that reflect her fascination with exotic flora and fauna. The front room has elegant grey panelling with a hanging garden overhead and white peacock taxidermy. Through an arch door, the space transitions into a bold pink room that display a collection of cockatoos and three delicate bell-jars, containing flower installations made by Chan form discarded butterfly wings.

With the brand’s ethos of innovation and sustainability at the heart of the design, terrazzo was an obvious choice of material for the flooring. Terrazzo tiles compose of stone aggregates – by-products of marble quarries and factories in Northern Italy. It offers durability, myriads of colour and design choices and, most importantly, a greener alternative to traditional stone materials.

For this project, we provided cement-based Torcello and resin-based Calacatta terrazzo. The former is in bush-hammered finish and is well suited for the floors in high-traffic areas, whereas the latter make up the floors and walls at the downstairs VIP room to create a unifying look.

For more sparkling images visit Anabela Chan’s Instagram page.