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Designers: forte_forte
- Area: 90 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Danilo Scarpati
Text description provided by the architects. The new forte_forte boutique in Cannes is a mineral box lit with marine reflections. the spatial language of forte_forte, stemming from the dialogue between Robert vattilana and Giada forte, is a subtle counterpoint of elements, a multisensory balance of components: materials, volumes, the identity of the place, meant as a local character and genius loci, come together in a narration that is always unique.
Each new opening adds possibilities and variations to a distinctly eclectic repertoire, expanding it in the sign of an iridescent continuity. the Cannes boutique, located at 27 rue du commandant andré, a few steps from la Croisette, housed in a corner building of linear simplicity, is immersed in the sunny holiday atmosphere of the Côte d'Azur, absorbing its bright and sparkling light. three windows open onto the outside, traversed like a sign by a shelter, creating transparency and osmosis between inside and outside, furniture and environment, activating a game of gazes and a dialogue of volumes.
The entrance, on the corner, cuts the natural light, welcoming its glow and geometrizing it. The story is assertive. It moves forward in modulations of one single material, expanded in its tactile possibilities and chromatic iridescences. Space is in fact conceived as a box of mineral colors and marine transparencies made entirely of material of pure invention: an agglomeration composed of a light gray concrete base that surrounds a white stone with the appearance of bright salt crystals and deep jade green crystals.
The floors are cut in this composite stone, as are the full–height wall coverings, milled in vertical lines that give the white stone a special sheen. the monolithic cash desk with brass drawers is also made of this composite stone. The density of the story softens and hovers in a rhythmic movement on the white ceiling, designed by rays that flow towards the stairwell. the stage box is an intimate casket that invites discovery. The display area is wrapped in a full-height white curtain that partially covers a shop window. the calligraphic hangers and organically–shaped mirrors, made of brass, are shiny and metallic signs in space. A brass display placed in the window and supported by a turned brass pole wraps itself in a helical movement that accompanies the eye on the shelves that house the products, visible from inside as well as from outside.
The furniture, entirely made by Italian artisans, consists, among other things, of curved wooden chairs covered with gold leaf, with perforated leather cushions. the sense of intimacy finally solidifies in the dressing rooms conceived as boudoirs, closed by brass hinged doors and divided by a movable curtain that allows one to remodel the space. They are imagined as a casket within the casket, in which to experience the very personal emotion of dressing.
Inside, it is entirely covered with crackle ceramic tiles: a contrast, sudden like summer light, with the eclectic minerality that dominates the space, dotted with large plants that bring a vegetal presence into the visual texture. a spiral staircase with suspended steps, located behind the cash desk in a circular frame, leads to the first floor, where the warehouse is housed. the space is dreamlike and bright. an ineffable and liquid lightness takes a streak of solid permanence.
