nathan john 

Each pair of Focals is custom built using advanced 3D scanning technology, and North wanted this experience to complement the beauty, ease, and intelligence of Focals. Conceived as a deployable system, the flagship showroom in Brooklyn blends elements of retail, hospitality and product design to introduce customers to this unprecedented technology.

Just as Focals blends good-looking eyewear with precision fit and function, the North showroom blends the frisson of discovery with the beauty, comfort and high-touch cues of more familiar retail experiences. The showroom system is designed as a flexible kit of parts, adaptable for permanent and pop-up locations and intended to evolve with Focals’ technology.

North customers move through distinct environments. An immersive experience, developed with North engineers, invites customers inside to explore a “forest” of display “trees” and holographic screens. Interested customers proceed upstairs to more intimate settings. Sizing takes place within freestanding booths composed of advanced scanning technology and bespoke elements. The sitting area is ethereal and calm: sheer layers of fabric and mirrored refractions provide a perceptual envelope of privacy as customers try on and test Focals.

Light is an essential design element, distinguishing each experiential zone—for example, warm and suffuse in the sitting area and futuristic in the sizing booth. To maintain a consistent experience, a sensor-driven control system automatically adjusts lumen levels for each fixture throughout the day.