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Architects: Pascal Grasso Architectures
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Nicolas Dorval-Bory
Text description provided by the architects. Pascal Grasso Architectures were asked to convert an existing space including two 115 ft long corridors into an office space and showroom gallery. The resulting design capitalizes on the length of the corridors transforming the space into an ideal location to showcase clothing and fashion accessories. A rhythm of extruding volumes increase along the face of the showroom wall gradually fading away as its proximity nears the office space.
The main piece of furniture, passing by through the place, is another strong element that animates this place. This piece separates the public space of the exhibition from the private offices and storage. Its way begins from over the reception, allowing the necessary porosity to host clients. Then it gets denser in order to make the offices more intimate. This piece of furniture is made out of racks that allow the storage of supplies. It ends in the assembly hall and takes on the functions of exhibition and storage.
To complete the dynamics of the space, a subtle play of light is set up for both levels. At the first level the suspensions form falling tears from the ceiling. They create plays of light reflecting from more or less bright surfaces. The organic appearance is in contrast with the geometry of the installation. Upstairs, the strips of fluorescent tubing boost the effect of perspective created by the length of the showroom, reinforcing the geometric rigor of the space.
Geometry, by its overwhelming presence, transforms the space, blurring the bench-marks. The scale of the place becomes difficult to grasp. The intervention is seen as a series of spatial devices provoking disorder, disruption of the senses, a reaction which changes the perception and feeling. Geometric abstraction is enhanced by the lighting, which makes this negative space into an immaterial space.
