Buyers visiting the brand new Lululemon flagship retailer in SoHo may discover one thing new and authentic after they sit down. The benches contained in the house weren’t carved from wooden or molded from plastic within the conventional approach. As a substitute, they had been 3D printed.
The customized benches had been created by Decibel Constructed, a studio centered on sustainable, large-scale printed furnishings and architectural parts. The items had been printed utilizing Caracol’s Heron 300, a robotic large-format additive manufacturing system. The result’s furnishings that feels robust however continues to be smooth to the contact, with a floor that appears a bit like cloth.
Along with the benches, Decibel additionally produced its proprietary BranchClad furnishings and a printed shroud for the house, additional integrating large-format 3D printing into the shop’s inside design.
The Lululemon location at 524 Broadway, situated on the nook of Spring Road in SoHo and inaugurated in late 2025, is designed to be greater than a retail house. The shop contains digital parts, community-focused programming, and design options meant to create a stronger in-person expertise.
Lululemon has described the SoHo retailer as a mannequin or template for future places. Which means design particulars just like the benches will not be simply seating, however a part of the model’s identification contained in the house.
Decibel built-in Lululemon’s emblem motif instantly into the 3D printing toolpath. As a substitute of making use of branding afterward, the sample is constructed into the construction itself. The printed floor has a textile-like high quality, described as a delicate nod to the corporate’s roots in athletic attire.
Lululemon SoHo flagship retailer. Picture courtesy of Lululemon.
The benches had been printed from a bio-based plastic bolstered with plant fibers. And at the moment, this selection of fabric is essential, particularly contemplating that large-format 3D printing is commonly related to industrial plastics. However on this case, the fabric was chosen to help sustainability objectives. By utilizing a plant-based composite, the venture strikes away from purely petroleum-based plastics and towards renewable supplies. For a model like Lululemon, the supplies utilized in its flagship retailer matter.
What Decibel Constructed Does
Decibel Constructed focuses on customized architectural and furnishings initiatives made by large-format 3D printing. The corporate’s proprietary BranchClad system is one instance: a printed-surface system designed for inside and exterior functions. These BranchClad parts on the SoHo retailer had been produced utilizing Decibel’s C-Fab® know-how, leading to furnishings which might be as much as eight occasions lighter than conventional concrete whereas sustaining structural energy.
Customized BranchClad shroud within the new Lululemon SoHo flagship retailer. Picture courtesy of Decibel Made by way of Instagram.
As a substitute of mass-producing equivalent gadgets, Decibel creates customized items for every venture. And these benches had been made particularly for the SoHo retailer. Utilizing robotic additive manufacturing permits Decibel to supply giant objects in fewer components. It additionally permits floor textures to be programmed instantly into the print. That’s how the emblem sample was embedded into the construction of the benches.
The corporate prints on Caracol AM’s Heron system, a robotic platform designed for large-scale additive manufacturing (LFAM). These techniques use robotic arms to deposit thermoplastic supplies in layers, constructing furnishings and architectural elements at a scale that customary desktop printers can not attain.
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- Customized BranchClad bench within the new Lululemon SoHo flagship retailer. Picture courtesy of Decibel Made by way of Instagram.
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- Customized BranchClad bench within the new Lululemon SoHo flagship retailer. Picture courtesy of Decibel Made by way of Instagram.
3D printing in trend has normally centered on footwear, midsoles, or efficiency gear. However this venture exhibits a unique angle, and one that’s visually essential for patrons: retail infrastructure. On this case, 3D printing is getting used to construct the shop itself, not the merchandise.
This issues as a result of retail is altering. Bodily shops are anticipated to supply one thing additional, one thing that on-line purchasing can not. Utilizing new supplies and robust design decisions helps the shop really feel particular and distinctive. The 3D printed benches add one thing new to the shop. Clients could not know the main points, however they’ll see and really feel the distinction.
A Template for Future Shops
As a result of this retailer is a mannequin for future places, 3D printed parts might seem in additional Lululemon shops. For the 3D printing trade, that is fairly essential because it expands additive manufacturing past the industries we’re most acquainted with, like aerospace, medical, protection, and tooling. And it does one thing that different industries can not do: it places the know-how proper in entrance of the shoppers. It’s fairly a visual software.
What’s extra, large-format 3D printing is good for this type of software. It permits customized kinds, embedded branding, and on-demand manufacturing with out the necessity for molds. For one-off flagship shops or restricted design rollouts, that flexibility is effective.
Customized BranchClad bench within the new Lululemon SoHo flagship retailer. Picture courtesy of Decibel Made by way of Instagram.
These new benches carry collectively a number of essential concepts: plant-based supplies, large-scale robotic 3D printing, customized design, and branding constructed instantly into the construction. Along with the light-weight BranchClad furnishings, they present how additive manufacturing can transfer past prototypes and into everlasting retail environments. In case you are in SoHo, you possibly can see and sit on the benches at 524 Broadway and expertise how 3D printing is changing into a part of on a regular basis areas.
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