The client acquired an old shoe shop next to Bolhão, Oporto’s famous market. The brief requested the space to be transformed into a new clothing flagship store and the new space had to be designed and implemented in less than 2 months.
The interior space, last refurbished in the late 80’s, was very degraded and stopped in time. Many years of small renovations and additions made the store both fragmented and unpleasing and none of the existing fittings or furniture seemed fit to be reused. The space was quite long, with virtually no storefront and little natural light. The total budget for the renovation, less than 6000€ including furniture, left little margin for imagination.
The project proposed to reduce the space to its bare minimum complexity: using only white planes, the old identity of the store was erased, allowing for a non-referential canvas to be defined. The 'new' inner volume was almost not designed, becoming just the result of an abstraction.
At the end of the store, three yellow curtains point out the dressing rooms. The tall proportions of the openings (300x60cm) provide a rare sense of scale for such small rooms.
The hangers were produced from old dexion structures found in the basement: the modular system allowed for different sizes and settings, resolving all the needs. The old and rusty metal pieces expressed a strong contrast both with the colorful clothes and the white walls.
Facing the entrance, the new counter was cladded in marble. Contrasting with the modesty of the intervention, a vague sense of status was conveyed.
project team:
FALA ATELIER
filipe magalhães
ana luisa soares
ahmed belkhodja
ana lima
thea orderud
photography:
flávio pires
http://www.falaatelier.com/bolhao
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