Text description provided by the architects. Transform a half-buried garage into the first physical store of the multi-brand e-commerce Bemglô was the challenge faced on this project. Located in Oscar Freire Street, one of the most important commercial streets of São Paulo, the place is a reminiscent part of a building where some years ago another brand was already established.
While the neighbor occupies a more conventional space for a store, directly connected to the street through the shop windows, the area destined to the Bemglô is constituted of a narrow ramp, 3 meters width for 25 meters length, followed by a hall. Despite the generous dimensions, the low ceiling height of 2,10 meters and the lack of openings made the place wet, dark and closed.
The natural light was the artifice used to enlarge the spatial sensation, attract everyone’s looks and convince people to enter in the store. A fiberglass roof tile, over a preexisting transparent roof follow the ramp in its whole path allowing a scattered and filtered light. The design of the inner volume, associated with the ceiling, encloses with the same material a mezzanine, which the neighboring store had already taken over with its storage. Artificial lights were built-in on it, with T5 lamps on its interior for a general lighting and a spot rail for light focus that can be managed according to the products disposition. Another important point for natural light entrance was made through the partial demolition of the slab at the back of the hall.
Although they are not internally connected, the two stores share the same façade. In order to communicate the existence of the Bemglô to the passers-by, a concrete gantry, shaped by the same tiles of the roof, marked its low proportion entrance. From it is also possible to see, suspended on the right wall, the steel beam that runs through the whole extension of the store and carries the look to the inside. This operation allowed the utilization of the ramp as expositive space, important wish of the clients. On the beam, exposed modules were inserted, with different sizes and configurations, allowing the layout dynamics necessary to a multi-brand store.
In the enlargement of the ramp, under the highest ceiling height of the store, a garden qualifies the environment visually and thermally, which was also used for product exhibition through glass shelves, floating among the plants.
The functional part of the program, composed by bathroom, storage, fitting room, cash and wrapping area was disposed in a single core on the lounge area. In a L-shape it unfolds itself along with the corner of the walls, in order to not disturb the free space for the products disposition.
The gypsum ceiling on the lounge was withdrawn, its slabs and beams stripped in order to reveal the constructive system and increase the ceiling height. With the new light entrance, on the slab demolition, it was designed a space for the partner Café Catarina.
During the physical identity creation, we strived to remain faithful to the fundamental concepts of Bemglô: sustainable, artisanal and national production. That is the reason why most part of the vertical plans were panted with natural land ink and the horizontal plan was covered with a terrazzo that reuses glass fragments instead of small stones.
Great part of the project was created during the construction, when surprises were revealed during the demolition, recurrent during reform projects. The reutilization of constructive materials, like woods transformed in shelves or the steel exhibition system tested and constructed on site by the locksmith, to name a few, were enabled by the architects in site. In the face of a limited deadline and budget, the construction moment was comprehended and experienced intensely as a space of experience and creation.
