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Architects: André Sumida, Joana Espinha
- Area: 170 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Fernando Gonsales, André Sumida
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Manufacturers: Coral, Etna, Hugo Sigaud
Text description provided by the architects. The goal of the Project is to promote the brand, create a space to expose the goods and the philosophy of a man´s wear brand with bigger ideals than sell their products.
The remodeling of an old neighborhood store to a modern man´s wear store, that previously sold exclusively online. As a marketing strategy they wanted a street store that reflect their ideals, basic design, fare price and social sustainability.
The project seeks trough an interesting composition of basic construction materials, get in to a design that is simultaneity simple, elegant and refined. Working with painted brick, wood, concrete, steel mesh; we got a design that fulfill the client´s wish, is related to the brand and call people who is walking down the street to get into the store.
To expose the clothes, we developed a system with wood profiles and steel pieces that assemble allowing the store to change and adapt following the needs of the season, not depending on other furniture that might interfere with the architecture. Taking all the pieces out is an option as the store might turn into a big room to receive paintings and pictures, as the building do not settle on selling clothes, but it is aimed to be a cultural and entertaining spot for the city, even have a multipurpose room for that objective.
In the upper level, there is the owners’ office, a meeting room and the multipurpose room, that had already hosted parties, exhibitions and Yoga classes. The brand invest in a social side, for every piece sold, they giveaway a school kit for a kid in need, that’s why the need for a space where people could get together and think was a wish.
The basic design of the clothes, both in material and design reflects into the architecture, with the brick wall painted in white, that receive the architectural elements with their natural textures and simple shapes, that compose and serve its use. The lighting dismisses great fixtures and simply float in the space, while the desk is with its monolithic shape divides spaces between store and changing room, it also offers food and coffee, the space eventually serves ad DJ booth for parties.
Next to the façade and the shop window we have coffee tables for those who came after the store for a cup of coffee while watching the street, or to sit in the bench on the façade in the street.
A wood frame in the façade made of painted bricks, frames the light with the store logo by the multipurpose room. The window is over the rolling door box, that instead of being a technical need thing, call its place as architectural element that balance the composition of the façade, hosting the door inside a steel mesh box, that receives visual communication. And some day might have vines growing into it.
