Project Shu Uemura, Paris.

Standout The walls' undulating Corian bands are mimicked by the display table's stepped painted-MDF top, creating a strong yet subtle 1,300-square-foot canvas for this cosmetics specialist's colorful wares.

Photography Patricia Parinejad.

Project Novo, Hong Kong.

Standout Stainless-steel tubes descend like a stalactite from a cutout in the plywood dropped ceiling of this 32,000-square-foot space, nearly meeting a smaller stalagmite that rises from the epoxy floor.

Photography Yael Pincus.

Project Romanticism, Hangzhou, China.

Standout Starting on the store's facade and wrapping inside to envelop the 12,000-square-foot ground level, a web of concrete is covered in expanded polystyrene foam, glass, and resin—imagine a magnified textile weave.

Photography Nacása & Partners.

Project Elie Saab, Paris.

Standout Fluorescent fixtures, set in the ceiling, tucked into shadow boxes, and hidden beneath milky glass floor panels, illuminate an expanse of travertine, establishing the eco-neutral envelope of this three-level, 11,000-square-foot space.

Photography Thibault de St. Chamas.

Project Kurt Geiger, London.

Standout At this two-level, 2,200-square-foot boutique, red carpet flows past a refurbished 1880 staircase—with its Carrara marble steps, wrought-iron balustrades, and brass handrails—to cover an angled ramp showcasing men's shoes.

Photography Hufton & Crow/View Pictures.

Project Balenciaga, Los Angeles.

Standout The fashion house's artistic director, Nicolas Ghesquière, collaborated with this trio of artists to design a 3,500-square-foot West Coast outpost, a garden pavilion that features a VIP room defined by silvery moiré surfaces, actually textured MDF finished with aluminum leaf and aluminum-powder varnish.

Photography Grégoire Vieille.

Project Poleci, New York.

Standout The centerpiece of this 5,000-square-foot space, a custom chandelier of sandblasted glass cascades from the 12-foot ceiling of the main level and continues, through an opening in the floor, another 8 feet into the basement.

Photography Peter Murdock.