Acolá Store
The old triangular plant townhouse located in Pinheiros, São Paulo, had been used in recent years as a hair saloon. On the first visit to the property, we came across a very humid and dark space, since it had only four windows on the main facade.
The desire to bring light into the store guided the first design decisions of replacing a part of the compromised structure with a glass ceiling and visually integrating the levels through partial demolition of the upper slab. In addition to lighting the entire store, the cover provides for the exchange of natural ventilation that, added to the internal garden, brings great thermal comfort to the space.
The interval given by the garden on the double height ceiling arranged the program in two moments: in the first one, closest to the street, are the store [ground floor] and the office [mezzanine]; in the second one, at the back, a hydraulic core containing all wet areas, sanitary [ground] and pantry [upper level]. It is in the garden also that the flows between the levels are organized by the staircase and the suspended walkway that crosses the void.
In the middle of the store's free plan, a volume was strategically positioned to create various ambiences such as the reception area, clothing rails and lounge. The fact that it is a free volume, without touching the ceiling or walls, allows the circulation between these environments to be fluid and uninterrupted. In this volume are grouped an auxiliary stock, an exhibitor and also two fitting rooms with pivoting doors that divide, integrate or expand the area according to the need. In the mezzanine above, where all the walls have been demolished, the spatial arrangement is also given through another volume, the large stock dividing the open areas [workbench and meeting table] of the enclosed areas [private room and storage].
Among the materials chosen, wood and metal predominate. The decision to use them in a natural state is related to the clothes produced by Acolá, which are largely natural fabrics with craft techniques of dyeing and stamping. All the woodworking that uses the demolished peroba rosa wood [floor, hydraulic core and fitting rooms] as well as parts of the metalwork [stairway, suspended walkway, and clothing rails] were made in the fashion stylist’s farm in the countryside, using local machinery and labor.
On the façade was chosen for the preservation of the original concrete structure and the demolition of the masonry, opening between pillars two window sills and an entrance. To wear this new front, a frame of metal profiles on which the structure is enclosed inside the window has been proposed. Above it advances a marquee that protects the window from direct sunlight and is home to those who pass the street. Another urban kindness was also foreseen by the project: a future reform of the sidewalk together with a public bench and a place for bicycle parking.
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