![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_hero-1-852x479.jpg)
Snøhetta designs Aesop store in Sydney to resemble coastal cliffs
Granite covers almost every surface inside this Sydney Aesop store, which architecture firm Snøhetta has designed to look like a rocky coastline.
Situated amongst the busy, shop-lined streets of Sydney's central business district, Aesop Pitt Street has been designed by Snøhetta to "slow down the pace of passersby".
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x568.jpg)
"We sought to create a space that, though large in scale, still embodies the spirit and ambience of what Aesop is recognized for – a space of calm and reflection that allows one to focus for a moment on oneself," Peter Girgis, senior interior architect at Snøhetta, told Dezeen.
Granite has therefore been used to line almost every surface of the 250-square-metre store – Aesop's largest retail space to date – nodding to the appearance of coastal cliffs and the tranquil ambience associated with beachside settings.
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x1278.jpg)
The practice was also hoping that the extensive use of a single material would lend the store a sense of monumentality.
Images of stone quarries became a point of reference, along with Wrapped Coast – a 1969 installation that saw art duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude drape over 92,000 square metres of fabric over towering cliffs in Syndey's Little Bay suburb.
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x1278.jpg)
Vertical grooves have then been carved out of the stone walls to delineate rows of shelves, which openly display Aesop's products.
A block of silver metal also forms a huge sink where staff can test and demonstrate products for customers.
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x568.jpg)
Towards the rear of the store there is an additional trio of singular basins, much like bathroom vanity cabinets, which are meant to create a "home from home" atmosphere where customers can have a more personalised experience selecting products.
A splash of colour is provided by a foliage-filled planter in the room's corner.
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x568.jpg)
The store's entrance door is slightly set back from the outdoor pavement, a feature intended to allow shoppers a "moment to decompress" and acknowledge their transition into a calmer space.
Granite also covers this area and the store's facade, visually detaching the retail space from the area's surrounding sandstone buildings and the chaotic commercial streets.
![Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by Snøhetta](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/aesop-pitt-street-sydney-shop-interiors-snohetta_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x568.jpg)
Aesop Pitt Street marks the eighth store that Snøhetta has designed for the brand. Others include a branch in London that's centred by 12 rose-coloured arches and another in Oslo that's lined with three-dimensional oak panels.
Photography is by Benjamin Hosking.