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Architects
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Location
Athens, Greece -
Area
270.0 m2 -
Project Year
2010 -
Photographs
Text description provided by the architects. Natura Home showroom was created to accommodate samples of curtain textiles and furniture as well as samples of orthopedic bed mattresses. Among the owner's requests were a continuous 50 meters exhibition space for fabrics, a 5 mattresses exhibition space, a meeting area, a repairs workshop, a reception desk, and hygiene facilities for staff and clients. The general layout of the showroom was based on a sense of circular movement in order the staff and clients to have direct access in each segment at any time. This reasoning led to the design of two large tunnels developed along two sides of the space, forming a right angle, while operating in the same manner as the inner and outer side surface are used for the exhibition of textiles samples.
The tunnels are composed of vertical repeated panels that they do not touch on the floor giving a visual impression of floatation and that of a less enclosed space while function as separators of textiles in categories. Each panel side has a different colour that switches from magenta to black and the opposite, depending on the direction you move into them creating an illusion. For the illumination of the space, local and diffuse, three different types of economy lamps have been used for energy savings and better performance of the fabric samples. In addition a custom made large size ceiling lighting consisting of 400 rectangular pieces of white fabric has strategically placed above the meeting area in the center of the showroom and is semantic associated with the commodity fabrics.
The section of bed mattresses appears as a separate piece of the showroom and this was achieved with the construction of the Greek alphabet letter 'Π'-shaped form surrounding the beds. The tones of green and brown in that section, used to emphasize a direct connection with nature, as all mattresses are made of natural materials. The vivid colors, the magenta and white resin floor, the use of mottos and words on stickers to label different sections, and the manipulation of lighting, created a brand image and entice customers to browse the space.
