Building with the essence of a brand, using 6,000 bars of soap to shape the walls of a large container, was the idea carried out last April as the presentation of the latest store of the Australian brand Aesop, located in Piazza Cordusio in Milan, executed by the Belgian architect Nicolas Schuybroek.

The temporary proposal presented at Salone del Mobile in Milan was the result of a fruitful dialogue between the architect Nicolas Schuybroek and the artistic director of the brand, Ai Kato, to achieve one of the premises of modern architecture, with a slight variation, changing form follows function, to "form follows formulation" the title with which the work was presented.

Formulation is a concept Nicolas Schuybroek considers central for his practice: "In my office we always kick-off with concept, context and research before digging into designing. In that way we develop a clear formulation before creating. This formulation can change during the process. But for us formulation works as a compass during a project".

For the formulation of the Aesop installation Nicolas decided to use soap bars as architectural material: "a sort of brickwork". The architect is not new to such use of daily functional household items as works of art. This is both a way to elevate the ordinary to an extraordinary level – following his minimalist philosophy – and to link different worlds: "The soap bar did not only symbolize the practice of bathing, cleaning and self-care, but also the practice of architecture".

Nicolas Schuybroek's project transformed the store days before its official opening on May 5 into a work of sensorial art, feeling through smell, using Aesop bar soaps as the main material, to create a sensual envelope of aromatic walls. A minimalist idea that has been combined with the brand's philosophy for 37 years.This scenography focuses on self-care, skin science and the importance of the senses, with a particular emphasis on touch. A space that invites the customer to participate by letting themselves go when lying down on a rectangular surface, a performative act intoxicated by aromas1.

"The Arte Povera movement from the late 60s and 70s inspires the scenography. This movement has inspired my practice for many years and shaped the basis of this project for Aesop, known for its minimalist packaging." ——Nicolas Schuybroek

We were granted this unique location in the heart of London just as Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2024 was wrapping up. Our store design team was dismounting an installation by Nicolas Schuybroek—Form Follows Formulation—which had inhabited Aesop’s Piazza Cordusio store in Milan for the duration of the design week. Inspired by the Arte Povera movement from the late 60s and 70s, and echoing Superstudio’s contemporaneous monochromatic grid structures, Schuybroek had taken one of the most fundamental, functional household items—a bar of soap—to create an unconventional sculpture. Slabs of Aesop soap appeared to hover, en masse, in grid formation, supported by a slender timber structure that could be readily disassembled and reused in different locations. The Knightsbridge lease, fortuitously, presented an opportunity for the almost immediate re-deployment of this striking assembly.