“The entry point is a generous area with very little merchandise,” says architect Kirsten Stanisich. “This allows some time to adjust to the transition from the street, just as you might feel in the entry of a well-designed house.” The interior spaces are broken up with large, stylised corbel arches, which create smaller zones while introducing human scale to the voluminous ceilings. “They also bring a real sense of procession through the store.”More crucial in the brief was Gittoes’ desire for the space to reflect her abiding passion for the ocean and, in particular, diving. “We wanted it to capture the feeling Sarah has when she’s diving,” says Stanisich. “And while we didn’t want to be too literal in our references, a lot of the inspiration came from the colours of kelp – those beautiful, iridescent kind of deep greens.
