The Moscot brand of eyeglasses was launched in 1915 from a pushcart on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Today, brothers Kenny and Dr. Harvey Moscot, the great-grandsons of founder Hyman Moscot, are taking the family business in a more fashion-forward direction. At the same time, though, they’re boosting their eyecare services to include equipment that detects eye disease. To underscore this more sophisticated, updated vision, Stephan Jaklitsch Architects (New York) repositioned the retail, exam areas and laboratory at Moscot’s 14th Street store so customers from each wouldn’t cross paths as they had in the previous layout. No longer will customers ascending the stairs be greeted by the side of a display counter, little daylight and a random assortment of display cases.
“Service is what sets Moscot apart and that counter was the critical point of interaction,” says Jaklitsch. “So we turned the counter to face the arriving customer, making it a centerpiece of the design. We also brightened the area by removing walls that were blocking windows.”
To highlight the company’s long history, designers incorporated family photographs and Harvey Moscot’s collection of antique optical equipment.
Client
Moscot Eyewear, New York
Design/Architect
Stephan Jaklitsch Architects PC, New York
Outside Design Consultant Cooley Monato Studio, New York (lighting)
Audio/Visual Sound Response, New York Fixtures UM Project, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Flooring/General Contractor
Lee Hardwood Floor Construction Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Lighting
Bartco Lighting, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Con-Tech Lighting, Northbrook, Ill.
Hera Lighting LP, Norcross, Ga.
International Lights Inc., New York
Legion Lighting Co. Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Selux Corp., Highland, N.Y.
Signage/Graphics
Wook Kim, New York
Photography Paul Warchol Photography Inc., New York