Metropolitan Studio of Architecture (MSA) collaborated with WARDA, a renowned clothing brand, on designing their new stores across various cities of Pakistan like the very first one designed in Peshawar while 'Re-tale' is the second flagship store in this series. Each flagship store is designed keeping in mind the idea to serve as a rejuvenating device for the brand. MSA has taken this collaboration as an opportunity to look closely at the retail culture of Pakistan and the strategies of WARDA specifically. The explorations led to developing an overall thematic of the brand, where context becomes the central focus of the aesthetics of the flagships.
Re-tale is seven thousand square feet area of the flagship distributed in the ground, mezzanine, first and second-floor levels, located in the city of Rawalpindi- a twin city of the capital Islamabad, Pakistan. The area has a rich history being part of Great Gandhara civilization and in proximity to one of the major cities of the civilization, Taxila. The civilization flourished in the northwest region of Pakistan from 6th century BC till 5th AD and the people were known as Gandhara in Rig Vedic times, all along the Indian subcontinent.
The aesthetics of this very civilization became the inspiration behind the Re-tale flagship and gave rise to the mesmerizing masterpiece in the series. Studying in detail, the art of the civilization, the intricate conceptualization and selection of the material palette and beauty of Gandhara culture, gave expression to the Re-tale becoming the literal re-tale of the Gandhara.
The material pallet of the flagship includes stone, metal and gold leafing combined with the age-old technique of terrazzo improvised and installed on the double-height walls of the flagship. Apart from the irregular chips of marble in the terrazzo, marbles of regular geometric forms and varied sizes and colour have been arranged in a way that portrays the scene of the falling leaves from a sacred peepal (Ficus Religiosa) tree while the walls provide the perfect backdrop to the suitably located staircase. Furthermore, the mezzanine level is adorned with undressed but regularly cut stone of various sizes to accentuate the feel of the space.
The facade of the store is designed in continuing rustic metal (Corten Steel) on the imagery of a lotus pond, where the corners of the carefully selected laser cut metal geometric pattern are curved upward to give an image of a floating lotus flower. The continuing rustic metal sheet gives the facade a living character and the symbology of purity, associated with the lotus flower. In the insides of the flagship, the welcome wall behind the greeter counter has been adorned by local schist stone cut in lotus leaf pattern depicted in various Buddha sculptures of the civilisation. Some of these stone have been decorated with gold leaves to provide an attribute of life, light and providence.
The overall layout of the store responds not only to the programmatic requirements of the project but also to the retail behaviour of the customers. At the same time, the design is an ode to a great civilisation which once flourished in this region of the world.
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