Branch Technology’s Custom 3D-Printed Furnishings for lululemon
Our collaboration with lululemon demonstrates Branch Technology’s commitment to elevating retail environments through design excellence and advanced manufacturing. This project involved a suite of bespoke elements for lululemon’s new SoHo, New York, store concept—a blueprint for their future locations. Our contribution included custom furnishings including a display shroud for merchandise and two benches for seating, aligning perfectly with the store’s design, which is “rooted in movement, connection and sensory engagement.” The SoHo location explicitly features elevated materials, making our advanced fabrication technology a perfect fit for their innovative design strategy. The custom-fabricated benches serve a critical function in the customer journey, providing comfortable, durable seating for trying on footwear and offering shoppers a welcome space to take a rest during their experience.
The core technical achievement of these pieces centers on the benches. Measuring 8′ 2″ wide, they were created with BranchClad® using our proprietary and patented technology, Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab®). The final deliverables are in a form that is not only gorgeous and comfortable but also highly sustainable and functional. The efficiency is remarkable: at a finished weight of just 320 lbs, the benches are an estimated eight times lighter than traditional concrete alternatives. This significant reduction in mass enables streamlined logistics, easier installation, and overall flexibility, enhancing the customer experience both physically and operationally.
The C-Fab® Process: Precision & Performance
The revolutionary C-Fab® process is key to achieving this blend of precision and lightweight durability. It begins with our robots printing the BranchMatrix®, an open lattice structure that allows for virtually limitless geometric complexity. Polyurethane foam is then injected into this matrix, forming a solid shape that is subsequently milled down to its exact, precisely curved final geometry using a high-precision, 7-axis milling process. This meticulous control allows us to deliver the complex, yet comfortable, benches with consistency, a quality also seen in the shroud’s beautifully milled curved shape. To complete the product, the surface was finished by Anatole Exteriors using a Texston® TU/TEM exposed rock system. This finishing process, which required three unique mixtures per bench, provides long-term durability while delivering the benches in distinctive Terra Cotta and Beige color gradients, with the shroud matching the Beige finish, ensuring each piece has its own unique character and aesthetic appeal, complementing the store’s curated look.
Elevating the Customer Environment
Our CEO Ryan Lusk noted that this project is “rooted in a shared commitment to elevating the customer environment through design excellence and meticulous attention to detail.” The success of the lululemon furnishings, particularly the custom benches, stands as a testament to how Branch Technology’s advanced 3D printing methods can challenge conventional construction materials and deliver custom, scalable architectural elements that are lighter, faster, and more detailed than ever before, aligning perfectly with the elevated and dynamic retail experience lululemon is pioneering.
