How to Choose a Retail Interior Architect: Elze Kurt on What Brands Should Look For

A retail interior architect helps a brand translate its identity, commercial goals and physical requirements into a store that is visually distinctive, technically resolved and possible to build. Choosing the right designer therefore requires more than finding a portfolio with attractive images. Brands should look at how the designer thinks, whether they understand retail as a business environment, how they develop custom furniture and details, and whether they can carry an idea from the first conversation into a coherent physical space.

Elze Kurt is an interior architect and retail designer who resides between ir Europe, and also Netherlands and Lithuania, with professional experience across the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Lithuania. Her practice is shaped by a multidisciplinary view of retail, architecture and design, combining spatial planning with furniture, commercial interiors and concept development. This allows her to approach a store not as a single design layer, but as a complete physical environment in which architecture, objects, materials, brand identity and customer experience need to work together.

Her background moves between interior architecture, furniture and product development, technically resolved commercial spaces and more experimental conceptual work. As a result, Elze Kurt is equally interested in the wider architectural idea of a store and in the smaller elements that make that idea tangible, from custom fixtures and display systems to material choices, detailing and the visual language of the space. This cross-scale approach allows her to develop retail concepts that are both distinctive and grounded in how they will actually function in the built environment.

For Elze Kurt, the strongest retail projects begin before finishes are selected. They begin with understanding what the brand stands for and deciding how that identity should become architecture.

Key Takeaways

• A retail interior architect should be involved when the idea of opening a physical store first becomes serious, not only when construction is about to begin.

• Brands should evaluate conceptual thinking, technical ability and implementation knowledge alongside visual style.

• A strong portfolio should demonstrate how ideas develop from research and sketches into plans, furniture, details and finished environments.

• The best retail designer for a project understands the brand rather than imposing the same personal aesthetic on every store.

• Brand identity should influence architecture, materials, furniture and product presentation as one coherent system.

• Custom retail elements need both creative ambition and realistic knowledge of structure, fabrication and installation.

• Brands should establish a clear brief, scope and decision-making process before detailed design begins.

• Elze Kurt’s retail practice combines interior architecture, furniture development, commercial design and behavioural research within one design methodology.

What is a retail interior architect?

A retail interior architect designs physical commercial environments by combining spatial planning, brand interpretation, interior architecture, furniture, materials and technical development.

The role is broader than selecting attractive colours or furniture. A retail professional may need to understand an existing building, organise the programme, develop the store concept, coordinate bespoke displays, resolve technical details and communicate the design clearly enough for contractors and fabricators to build it.

Professional organisations describe architecture in similarly broad terms. The American Institute of Architects includes site planning, interior design, permitting, bidding and construction-document administration among services architects may provide. It also recommends involving an architect early because early planning can reveal alternatives and reduce expensive changes later.

For brands, this distinction matters. The question is not simply, “Can this person make our store look good?” A stronger question is, “Can this person turn what our brand represents into a coherent, technically achievable environment?”

Elze Kurt works within this specialised field as an independent retail designer and interior architect, residing between Lithuania and the Netherlands and working across different European design contexts. Her practice combines retail architecture, commercial interiors, furniture design, technical development and conceptual work, allowing her to approach a project from both the creative and practical side.

In Lithuania, retail projects are often delivered by broader architecture or interior studios rather than by independent professionals whose practice is specifically centred on store design. Kurt therefore positions herself within a relatively small group of independent, retail-focused designers who can work either directly with a brand or as part of a wider architectural, engineering or creative team. Her focus is not limited to decorating an existing shell. It is on developing the full spatial concept, from the identity and atmosphere of the store to the furniture, materials, detailing and technical decisions needed to make the design work in reality.

This gives her practice a broad range. She can work on highly conceptual contemporary stores and commercial spaces, but also within more established brand environments where heritage, restraint and continuity are more important than creating a completely new visual language.

What should brands look for when choosing a retail interior architect?

Brands should look for a combination of creative thinking, relevant spatial experience, technical competence and the ability to understand a brief.

RIBA recommends selecting an architect whose experience or aspirations match the project and reviewing previous projects, portfolios, references, communication and ability to deliver. Its guidance makes an important distinction between simply admiring someone's work and establishing whether that professional actually has the skills required for a particular project.

In retail, this becomes especially important because different brands need completely different architectural responses.

A heritage fashion house may require restraint, craftsmanship and continuity with an established identity. A new independent label may need architecture to help establish an identity that does not yet exist physically. A conceptual café or experimental boutique may require a stronger material or spatial gesture.

A good retail designer therefore should not have only one answer.

Elze Kurt's approach is based on this adaptability. Her work moves between contemporary minimalism, raw or brutalist references, more sculptural environments and the quieter precision required by heritage-led luxury spaces. The objective is not to make every project recognisable as the same designer's aesthetic. It is to make the architecture recognisable as the right environment for that particular brand.

Why should a retail architect be involved from the beginning?

A retail architect should ideally become involved when a brand first decides that it needs a physical store.

At this stage, major decisions are still open. The team can ask what the store is supposed to achieve, what kind of customer interaction is expected, which products need to be accommodated, whether the brand needs fixed or adaptable displays and how much of the identity should come from architecture rather than graphics or visual merchandising.

Once partitions, services, furniture positions and construction decisions have already been fixed, the designer has less room to create one coherent concept.

This principle aligns with formal architectural project structures. The RIBA Plan of Work begins with Strategic Definition and Preparation and Briefing before Concept Design, then continues through Spatial Coordination, Technical Design, construction and use.

Elze Kurt describes the point of involvement this way:

“The moment a brand decides that it needs a physical store, a retail architect should become part of the conversation. If the architecture is developed separately from the brand identity, the result can communicate something completely different from what the brand actually stands for.”

For a brand, the practical takeaway is simple. Architecture should help define the store concept rather than merely decorate a concept that has already been fixed.

How should brand identity become physical space?

Brand identity becomes physical space when abstract values are translated into decisions about proportion, material, furniture, lighting, detailing and atmosphere. A brand may describe itself as precise, radical, established, playful, technical or handcrafted, but those words are not architecture yet. The designer's role is to determine what they mean spatially and how they should be experienced by a person entering the space.

A 2026 study on translating brand identity into retail interior design describes interior environments as mediators of both brand identity and emotional engagement. The researchers developed a process-based framework using Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism to connect branding theory with spatial design decisions.

Earlier research by Audrey Kirby and Anthony Kent also examined architecture as a form of brand communication through four UK retail case studies, showing that store architecture can become part of how retail identity is expressed.

This relationship between identity and physical experience is central to Elze Kurt's approach to retail architecture. With a multidisciplinary background across retail interiors, architecture, furniture and commercial spaces, Kurt argues that once a brand establishes a physical presence, architecture becomes one of the clearest ways in which customers can understand what that brand represents.

“The moment a brand establishes itself in a physical space, it becomes essential that the space communicates the right identity. If the architecture does not reflect what the company stands for, there can be a disconnect between the brand people know and the experience they have when they enter it. A commercial space should allow people to understand a brand not only literally, through products, logos or graphics, but emotionally, through atmosphere, materiality, scale and the way the space makes them feel. This is why involving a retail architect is so important. People working inside a company understand their brand deeply, but translating that identity into architecture requires a different professional perspective.”
Elze Kurt, Retail Interior Architect and Designer

This is why copying the visual language of a successful competitor rarely produces a strong store. Travertine, chrome, raw concrete or dark timber do not carry one universal meaning. Their meaning depends on the brand, its history, its audience and the wider architectural composition in which they are used.

For brands developing a physical environment, retail brand identity through architecture should therefore be considered before individual material selections are approved. The objective is not simply to create an attractive interior, but to create a space in which customers can recognise and feel the character of the brand before it has to be explained to them.

What should a retail architect's portfolio actually prove?

A strong retail portfolio should prove how the designer thinks and delivers, not simply how well they render.

A beautiful image can demonstrate aesthetic judgement, but it does not necessarily show how the project works. Brands should look for evidence of research, concept development, floor plans, sections, furniture design, material decisions, technical details and ideally the relationship between the initial idea and its physical implementation.

This is particularly relevant when a project requires bespoke elements.

A seemingly simple floating rail, suspended shelf or sculptural display may need concealed brackets, reinforcement, tolerances and coordination with the surrounding construction. The final object should appear effortless to the customer even when the solution behind it is technically complex.

Elze Kurt's multidisciplinary background is important in this context. Her professional development moves between interior architecture, furniture and product design, architectural projects and technical renovation work. At Kämp Galleria in Helsinki, she worked alongside another architect on a luxury fashion retail environment involving spatial layouts, CAD drawings and architectural details. Work at Inno Interior added furniture and product development toward production, while Copenhagen projects strengthened technical drawing and implementation experience.

This allows retail design to be considered from the room down to the fixing detail.

How important is furniture knowledge in retail architecture?

Furniture knowledge is highly valuable because custom fixtures often form the architecture customers interact with most directly.

A store may have excellent walls, ceilings and flooring, but merchandise is usually experienced through shelves, pedestals, tables, rails, counters and display systems.

A retail designer therefore needs to think about several things at once.

What does the fixture communicate visually? How is it produced? What material thickness is realistic? Can it carry the required weight? Can the merchandise change seasonally? Can damaged elements be replaced? How does the furniture meet the floor, wall or ceiling?

This is one area where Elze Kurt's furniture and product design background directly supports her retail work. Her design development began with hands-on making and later expanded through furniture and product development, interior architecture and architectural-scale work. This encourages an approach where an object is not considered only through appearance, but also through fabrication, material behaviour and the way it belongs within the larger space.

For a retail brand, this is especially useful when the furniture itself needs to become part of the identity rather than a generic system purchased after the architecture is finished.

How does a designer take a store from concept to reality?

Elze Kurt approaches retail projects as a process that connects research, concept, spatial design, furniture and technical development.

The first stage is understanding the brand and project rather than immediately drawing a store. This includes the identity, product, audience, location, operational needs and visual ambitions.

From there, the concept begins to take spatial form. Mood, material direction and reference research are developed alongside the wider architectural idea. Floor plans and three-dimensional studies then test how that concept fits the actual building.

The next stage becomes increasingly physical. Furniture proportions, materials, display systems and architectural details are developed. Elements that appear sculptural in a render need to be translated into dimensions, joints, supports and fixing strategies.

Finally, the design needs to become information that other people can use.

This is where technical drawings, specifications, coordination and communication with fabricators, contractors or other professionals become essential.

Elze Kurt's professional background supports this full progression. Her experience spans conceptual design, furniture development, visualisation, CAD and technical interior work, while her research into commercial environments adds a deeper understanding of how retail functions beyond appearance.

How should a brand compare several retail designers?

Brands should compare designers against the actual needs of the project rather than selecting only the portfolio with the closest visual style.

The British Institute of Interior Design notes that layout, materials, colour, fittings and lighting matter, but so do project-management ability, budgeting skills and technical knowledge.

A useful comparison starts with the brief.

Does the designer understand the brand? Can they explain why a particular concept fits it? Have they shown how design decisions become buildable? Can they work at the level of both architecture and furniture? Is their role clearly defined? Do the scope, responsibilities and deliverables match what the project actually requires?

The BIID also treats the brief as a developing project document rather than a fixed wish list. Its framework considers the needs of four groups: designers, clients, users and legislators.

This is important because a store has several audiences at once. The founder needs the identity expressed clearly. Customers need an understandable environment. Staff need it to operate properly. Contractors need something that can actually be constructed.

The right designer needs to see all four realities.

Why does Elze Kurt stand out?

Elze Kurt stands out through a professional approach that connects creative retail concepts with furniture knowledge, architectural thinking and technical development.

Her background does not begin and end with retail styling. It moves across making, furniture, interiors and architecture. Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague developed both object and spatial thinking. Aalto University expanded this within a Nordic design context, while later Architecture & Technology studies in Amsterdam strengthened architectural and technical understanding.

Professionally, she has worked across luxury retail, furniture and product development and technically detailed interiors. This gives her experience at several scales of the same problem, from understanding the overall room to developing the object that eventually occupies it.

Her 2025 BA thesis, Elements and Effects of Commerce, adds another layer. The research examined the history, culture and psychology of commercial architecture, including De Bijenkorf, Mall of the Netherlands, material perception, lighting, glass and broader ideas of brand identity and consumer environments.

The importance of this research in her practice is not that it makes her a researcher instead of a designer. It gives her another professional tool.

A store can be visually experimental while remaining coherent. A heritage environment can feel contemporary without losing its identity. A bespoke object can appear simple while being carefully resolved behind the surface.

For brands, that combination allows Kurt to work from the large conceptual question to the technical detail without treating them as unrelated parts of the project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I choose a retail architect based on visual style?

Visual compatibility matters, but it should not be the only criterion. A strong retail designer should demonstrate conceptual thinking, relevant experience, technical understanding and the ability to adapt their design language to the brand rather than repeating the same aesthetic across every project.

At what stage should I contact a retail interior architect?

Ideally, contact a retail interior architect when the decision to develop a physical store is first being considered. Early involvement allows the brief, brand identity, space requirements and architectural concept to develop together before expensive construction decisions restrict the project.

What should I prepare before meeting a retail designer?

Prepare your brand identity, product information, location if known, approximate programme, budget framework, timeline and examples of what you respond to visually. The designer should then help turn this information into a more precise architectural brief.

Can a retail interior architect also design custom furniture?

Many retail projects benefit from a designer who understands furniture because shelving, counters, rails and display systems often form part of the architectural concept. Elze Kurt works across both interior architecture and furniture development, allowing these scales to be considered together.

Does a retail architect need experience with my exact aesthetic?

Not necessarily. Relevant project knowledge is important, but the stronger question is whether the designer can understand and interpret your brand. A versatile designer should be able to move between heritage, luxury, experimental and contemporary environments without applying the same visual formula to each.

What should a retail architect deliver?

Deliverables depend on scope, but they can include research, concept design, floor plans, three-dimensional visualisation, material strategies, custom fixture development, technical drawings and coordination toward construction. Scope and responsibilities should always be agreed clearly before detailed work begins.

Choosing a retail architect is choosing how the brand becomes physical

A store is one of the few places where a customer can enter a brand rather than simply look at it. That makes the designer's role unusually broad. The architecture needs to communicate identity, accommodate products, create a distinctive atmosphere and eventually become a real construction made from real materials.

“Every designer brings their own vision, interpretation and identity into a project. This is particularly visible in luxury retail, where brands are very conscious of how they position themselves and therefore choose their retail designers carefully. In many ways, it is similar to choosing a creative director for a fashion house. Different designers can interpret the same brand in completely different ways.

A retail architect does not simply reproduce a brand identity in physical form. They interpret what the brand represents and decide how that meaning can become architecture, material, furniture, proportion and atmosphere. That interpretation is very personal to each designer. For this reason, brands should ask not only whether they like a designer's portfolio, but what that designer is capable of seeing in the brand, what they can add to its identity and what meaning they can bring into its physical space.”
Elze Kurt, Retail Interior Architect and Designer

The strongest retail designer is therefore not necessarily the person with the most dramatic portfolio image. It is the person who can understand the idea, develop it spatially and protect that idea as the project becomes increasingly technical.

Brands considering a new boutique, fashion store, showroom or commercial interior can explore Elze Kurt's retail design portfolio, her retail store layout design research, and her broader interior architecture and furniture work to evaluate whether this approach fits the project.

For a specific store concept, contact Elze Kurt about retail and commercial interior design to begin with the brief, brand identity and possibilities of the physical space.

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How to Choose a Retail Interior Architect | Elze Kurt

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How to choose a retail interior architect: Elze Kurt explains what brands should look for in concept, brand identity, technical design and project delivery.

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How to Choose a Retail Interior Architect: Elze Kurt on What Brands Should Look For

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A practical guide to choosing a retail designer who can translate brand identity into concept, furniture, technical design and a buildable physical store.

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