Atlas Department Store

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Khezershahr Modern Style Villa

Atlas Department Store

Firm

GBG Design Studio

Type

Commercial › Retail
Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

SIZE

1,000,000 +

Atlas Department Store
Consultant: GBG Design Studio
Location: Shariati – Tehran - Iran
Area: 1407 m2
Built-up Area: 14117 m2
Project Start Date: 2012
Client & Project Manager: Seyed Mohammadreza Gerami (Gerami Business Group)
Architectural Design: Morteza Rahbar, Mostafa Talaei, Mohammadreza Hajian, Ehsan Hatami
Structural Design: Aabadi Structural Design, Omid Pashafar
MEP Design: Farab Mojri Zist
Construction: Hossein Golpasha, Omid Pashafar, Farzad Saveh Doroodi

General Characteristics of the Project:
Atlas Department Store is located in Shariati Street in the Northern part of Tehran. The project is situated in a dense populated area with a few commercial centers which is far less than what is actually required. As a result, this project would strategically respond to the needs of residents of this particular area. Based on the feasibility studies carried out, the following three functions are considered suitable for the project:
1.       Supermarket in a regional scale
2.       Department store in a regional scale
3.       Restaurant and coffee-shop in a regional scale
Taking into account the large volume of traffic in this area, six levels of parking shall be constructed right beneath the department store, which are accessed by appropriately sloped access vehicle ramps. Supermarket is located in level -1, department stores in levels G, +1 and +2 and restaurant and coffee-shop in level +3 and roof garden.
Design Ideas:
The most significant challenge in the design process of the project is matching the site of the project with its surrounding area. By considering that the site of the project spans from North to South, in the simplest form, the building could be thought of as a rectangle with a view to the West of the city. The architectural design of the building, in visual and psychological terms, shows its significance when viewing the structure from within and from the outside.
Carrying out field studies demonstrated that the view of the mountains located in the North of Tehran could be enjoyed by rotating the building to the North by a few degrees. Moreover, different degrees of rotations in different floors would result in achieving diverse views of the outside. When looking at the project from the outside, the orientation of the showcase windows could have a positive impact on the level of attraction of clienteles. Hence, the rotation of each floor would result in two floors to be towards to customers who travel to the North, and the other two floors to be towards the consumers who travel to the South. This rotation and slippage of each floor with respect to the other would generate an attractive and dynamic form which is based on the holistic human perception (Gestalt theory). Since the project is located in close proximity of the Shariati Street which has a high traffic flow, it can be concluded that most of the potential clienteles of the department store travel by vehicles. The speed by which the vehicles and the people on foot move differs, which results in different urban visual perceptions. The best method to entice the consumers in vehicles is a holistic design, whereas the attention to detail increases the chance of attracting the customers on foot. The increase in the level of detail of the form was accomplished by using triangulations and different wood piece arrangements.
Form Design:
The façade is consisted of two parts: the transparent part and the solid part. In the design process of the transparent parts of the façade, two factors of “providing the best possible view” and “maintenance accessibility” are vital. Hence, large glass sizes with glass supports have been used. A stand of one meter width has been positioned on the outskirts of each window strip in each floor to provide access for daily cleaning routine of the glass. The solid part of the façade has been used as a tool to create and demonstrate the floor by floor rotations of the building. The geometry of the opaque part is of hyperbolic and morphed form. Since an inelastic and inflexible material such as wood has been chosen for the façade, the triangulation technique shall be used to transform the morphed surface to flattened areas. To create diversity in the façade, pieces of wood in adjacent triangles have been positioned in different angles with respect to one another.
Interior Design:
Large triangulations have been used for the interior of the department store which was influenced by both the required standards and the façade design. The triangles in each level of department store have been defined as commercial islands. The restaurant level shall be divided by these triangles which would distinguish the different presentive parts of the restaurant. The same technique has been used in designing the roof garden which is a part of restaurant and coffee-shop complex. In designing the interior of the supermarket, the main design strategy was implemented based on international architectural and shopping standards.