Drawing inspiration from the forms and hues of Malaysia’s tropical forests, Aesop Mid Valley in Kuala Lumpur offers a serene environment that employs locally-sourced materials. Created in partnership with Marsollier Villacorta LLC, the design plays with contrasts between strong graphic elements and soft ambient qualities.

Solid Kempas timber planks are transformed into freestanding basins and counters with expressed joints. The perpendicular arrangement of the planks reveals the differences in graphic striation between transverse and face cuts of the timber—an intricate detail of an otherwise humble furniture element. The poetics of the space are honed through an examination of the inner florets of banana blossoms: delicate off-white hues envelop the store’s shell and set the minimal stage for the tectonic Kempas timber furniture. This environment is gently illuminated by an ambiguously formed paper shade.