In a city where the preferred urban disposition is rectilinear, the second iteration of Aesop Hysan Place anchors its prominent position within the retail centre of the same name by way of a sweeping façade. Serpentine shapes in airy shades of green contrast with the stained timber that wraps the interior in vast swathes of warmth.

The overall impression evokes a 1970’s lounge pit, where neighbours may have gathered to while away the hours of a hot, humid evening. A cabinet with a polished-steel front stands in the corner—its marble shelves stocked with amber rows of fragrance, in lieu of cocktails ingredients. Opposite, a Verdigris-coloured sofa borders the store’s outer edge, insulating those within from the agitation outside.

A sweeping central basin acts as a counterpoint to the open steel shelves which surround and harness it, while a vintage chrome-footed lamp holds the eye—its ochre shade a somewhat decadent flourish. Subtle downlighting casts shade and texture from the curlicued edges and brings into relief the rusty-earth terrazzo below.