John Pawson is the architect invited to design the Valextra flagship store in Milan designed in 2018. The store in via Manzoni is handed over to a different architect or designer every year. The aim of the intervention within the Valextra store on Via Manzoni in Milan is to create a charged container for objects, but also a spatial narrative that enhances the experience of architectural proportion, surface and scale across a sequence of three connected spaces.

The design is anchored — literally — in the existing Ceppo di Gré floors, a naturally patterned limestone that is a defining element of the material palette of Milan; and in the restrained use of light.
The custom colour of Clay Plaster used at all the other surfaces was developed to meet and enhance the existing floor tones. The space is characterised by a strong use of color and light, while its design is based around a series of compositions featuring suspended shelves finished in Matteo Brioni's Raw Earth in custom colour: TerraTon Wall Smooth Plus Polvere has been applied on walls and fixtures while TerraCalix Custom to the ceilings.