Louis Copeland and Brian Jennings of Douglas Wallace

Louis Copeland along with his interior designers Douglas Wallace Architects, Designers and Project Managers are celebrating a first for interior design in Ireland. Douglas Wallace's interior design for the Louis Copeland store on Wicklow Street in Dublin is the only Irish project selected for inclusion in the International Interiors Annual, the second volume of which was recently published by International Federation of Interior Architects / Designers (IFI).

Louis Copeland is delighted that his store has been recognised and commended in the international design world. "Douglas Wallace Architects and Designers are a wonderful company to work with. The retail design team created an interior which puts us right up there with the world's best retailers."

"We are very proud to be the only Irish company to feature in this prestigious journal" added Mr Copeland. "We are absolutely thrilled that the results of our successful partnership with Douglas Wallace has now been recognised by our peers internationally."

The design for Louis Copeland Wicklow Street focused on creating a store which was more attractive and appealing to customers wishing to purchase formal wear while at the same time creating a casual wear department on the ground floor. We looked at a number of options for the re-design of the ground floor and, given various constraints, reconfigured the existing staircase to maximise the efficiency.

The first stage of the design process was to restore and enhance the features of the period building and then contrast this with a very contemporary shop fit. The design team conceived the refit of the ground and first floor of the Wicklow Street store in a 'Classic Contemporary' style after travelling extensively with the client viewing international best practice. The design makes good use of the traditional forms and shapes of the existing building combined with contemporary colour, graphics, signage, lighting and joinery.

Other winning designs featured in the journal include the French entry for the Musée du Louvre, Pavllion des Sessions, by Wilmotte & Associates SA; Norwegian entry for the Oslo Stock Exchange by Niels Torps AS Arkitekter and Swedish entry for the Headquarters for Swedish Post by MSA Lise-Lott Söderlund and from Malaysia the Daimler Chrysler Office by S.I. Design.

The IFI collectively represents over 25,000 practicing Interior Designers worldwide. Irish entries for inclusion in this Annual were coordinated by the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI). Speaking about the recent publication, IDI President Arthur Duff said, "Douglas Wallace are an inspiration to the design profession in terms of their commitment to excellence. It is a pleasure to know that the work of IDI members is being recognised internationally".