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King’s Road Granny takes another trip
BD Magazine - Interiors - September 2007
A landmark in the geographical and psychedelic landscape of 1960s London is set to reappear on the map thanks to a scheme by Hut Architecture.
Granny Takes a Trip, the King’s Road boutique for swinging Londoners, is due to be relaunched for a new generation of style hunters in spring 2008.
The shop has been bought by developer Tim Morel, who has commissioned Hut Architecture to bring the premises at 488 King’s Road back to life. Morel has bought rights to the name, and is talking to retailers who will run the store in the spirit of the original. “It’ll be a 21st century take on the sixties. It’s likely to sell fashion, artwork, and coffee, or a hybrid of all three,” says Hut director Andy Whiting.
The front portion of the scheme will acknowledge the shop’s history, with new insertions joining the original moulded plasterwork and wood flooring. “It will have a shabby Bohemian feel, a kind of architectural archaeology,” says Whiting.
To the rear, Hut has designed a new glazed gallery space, with giant timber fins running longitudinally in the ceiling to control solar gain.
In its heyday of 1966-69, the store was famous for its constantly changing facade.
At one time the entire shop front was painted with a giant pop-art face of Jean Harlow. Overnight, that was replaced by a 1948 Dodge saloon car which appeared to crash out from the window and on to the pavement.
The project is currently on site.
Its timing could be ideal: there are currently plans for a Hollywood film on the story of the influential shop, and its founders Nigel Waymouth, John Pearse and Sheila Cohen.
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