![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Image 1 of 10](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5ac8/28ba/0d70/4200/03fa/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083831)
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Architects: Isay Weinfeld
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2009
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Photographs:Nelson Kon
Text description provided by the architects. Havaianas Sandals, created in 1962, drew their inspiration from the “zori”, traditional Japanese slippers made of rice straw. A product of extremely low cost, for many years they were just rubber flip-flops, a long way from the fashion icon they are today.
![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5abb/28ba/0d70/4200/03f7/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083834)
To design a store at one of the world's most expensive addresses (Rua Oscar Freire, in São Paulo) to sell products that cost from € 2.30 to € 10.00 – and not more than that - was, at one time, the excitement and the joy of the work.
![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Shelving](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5ac0/28ba/0d70/4200/03f8/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083836)
This is Havaianas' first store in Brazil.
Our greatest challenge was to cast onto the architecture the climate the brand inspires: freshness, casualness, comfort, ease, well-being, Brazilianness.
![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Image 4 of 10](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5ad2/28ba/0d70/4200/03fd/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083839)
The shop has a very informal atmosphere and the outcome is nearly a square - a space fully opened onto the street, practically an extension of the sidewalk, without doors or window displays, with lush greenery and intense natural lighting, only covered by a metal grid alternating glass/wooden closures and openings for ventilation and irrigation.
![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5ac4/28ba/0d70/4200/03f9/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083844)
The building develops in descending levels. At street level, just a small lounge area, a mezzanine overlooking the whole store; the store per se, one level below, occupies an ample clear span featuring double-height ceilings, marked by independent elements: a street market stand reminds of the origin of the sandals, initially sold at the city's free markets; a container displays the " export" models, so far unseen in Brazil; a transparent cylinder features the so-called "new products" (bags, socks, towels, etc.); and a high-tech cube tells the story of Havaianas. Amidst all that, a lowered area for customization services and featuring displays for the children's product line. At the back of the store, on a half-raised level, there is a small garden for exclusive use by staff; the underground houses offices and storage areas.
![Havaianas Store / Isay Weinfeld - Shelving](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5011/5acf/28ba/0d70/4200/03fc/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083849)