Italian design firm Gessi has become the global gold standard for refined, cutting-edge bathroom and kitchen furnishings and accessories, crafting stylish faucets, taps, rain showers, and vanities. Now, the company is opening its first U.S. outpost in New York’s SoHo district, in a dramatic space aiming to nurture designers’ daring ideas. The soaring five-story showroom, located at 214 Lafayette Street, mixes an industrial feel with a cinematic aura to set the tone for a unique visitor experience.
Gessi has distinguished showrooms in Milan, Singapore, Riyadh, Dubai and London; playing-off the success of these flagship stores abroad, also the New York store is a wholly unique venue with an intriguing history. The building was constructed as a power substation in the 1920s, became an art gallery in the 1980s and was later converted into the atmospheric home of a well-known film director.
Now, as Casa Gessi New York, 214 Lafayette has been reimagined as a jewel box for water magic, a massive stage for the experience of Gessi’s tailored approach to wellness through design. Shower elements for hydromassage, waterfall and atomization systems come in a wide range of materials and designs—the new Incastri collection created with master architect Kengo Kuma or the Perle collection, which applies bronze and stone to the pure form of the pearl—and can be freely composed.
Casa Gessi New York is the brainchild of company president Gian Luca Gessi and his sons Nicolò and Emanuele. The vision: a place where the simple act of dispensing water becomes a tangible pleasure and that blends in, at the same time, the story of the city.
From the first floor to the fifth, visitors rise through different ambiences. On one floor, LED lights in the walls project imaginative natural worlds. Another floor features leather and velvet booths showcasing a variety of customizable water fixtures. A double-height lounge, dubbed “la piazza,” is outfitted with sculptural, upholstered floral trunk displays. For private events, an open kitchen, bar and terrace with views of SoHo make customers feel at home.
The heritage of the building is on display throughout the store: exposed copper pipes, cross-vaulted ceilings, a 19th-century wood balustrade brought from France and even a 40-foot indoor pool from the previous tenant, who also left behind a few movie props such as two giant gilded clocks. A color palette of bold burgundy, octane blue and forest green enlivens the display space, while floral motifs inspired by British artist William Morris infuse a sense of delicacy.
