Furniture showroom and warehouse
This project is the result of the rehabilitation of an old cotton warehouse built over 50 years ago, and its transformation into a furniture showroom and warehouse. The reviving essence of the project led the design team to take a restoration approach, in spite of no financial limits and the possibility of demolishing and constructing a new building. In addition to the physical restoration, enlivening the spatial memories was taken into consideration as the most prominent goal in the rehabilitation process. Careful attention was paid that every addition to the building acquire a contemporary tone, and the remainder be restored as elements of the spatial memory. The reminiscence of light penetrating into the dark space of the old hall, turned into the main concept for designing the new pierced façade of the showroom.
The main structural system of the building was load-bearing walls and in the main hall, a combination of load-bearing walls and steel roof-trusses and columns.
Strengthening the walls and roof-trusses, replacement of the steel façade, preservation of the brick sections against moisture, and cleaning the bricks were amongst actions taken during renovation of the project.
The limited use of building material such as bricks, corrugated metal sheets, concrete and steel were amongst the design group decisions to reach a simple architectural statement and preserve the building memory.
