t studio showroom

The project assignment came from two fashion-shoe designers, who ended their lease and had to think of new work spaces and representative office.
They listed their needs thoroughly listed, mainly the functional ones.
Whithin this program, the architects enjoyed a wide margin of freedom, which led to a project where their vocation for rationalism was contaminated by the frivolous dimension of fashion, which needed to be rapresented. The project became a synthesis of architecture and graphics, alternating the tools akin to one or the other.

Each space is distinguised for a specific use, but they are all connected into an ideal shared itinerary, where some elements have been designed as a whole (materials, colours), others as exceptions (lights, shapes). Identity and diversity talk to each other without contradicting one another.

The building - recently restored- was once a carpenter workshop, and now hosts the showroom but maintains its historical dimension and shape.

On the ground floor (150 sq. m.) there is a space for events organized by Tstudio such as small exhibitions, art or fashion shows, but also serves as informal meeting room.

Specific attention has been paid to the lighting design. Three circles 3 m. in diameter (made in stretched PVC) create a light that can be either room lighting or atmosphere lighting simply changing the light source, from neon light to RGB-led lights.
The chromatic effect is completed by another PVC panel running across the entire bigger wall: it uses the same RGB-led system, that can work on its own or be syncronized with circles.
The surface of this panel (17 m long with nojoints) has been printed with fashion silhouettes and organic images. This decor somehow synthesizes the attitude of design; the enlargement of the image breaks out beyond its physical limits, moving the visitor into the dimension of dreams.
The space has been left as empty as possible with very few forniture elements to allow flexibility for different uses of the room.
Two large white panels, fixed on concrete columns, rotate 180? to invent new space configurations or perspectives. At the center of the space, a black glass blade reflects figures and lights, reducing the space physically, yet multipling it virtually.
On the opposite side of the printed wall, the elements are finished with a oiled and lime finish surface. This surface makes all the elements look as if they were carved out of stone, repeating the opposition between elements of design (in this case the lightness of printed PVC on the one hand, and the weight of wall on the other).

The upper floors contain the real work space, with a surface of 350 sq. m. between mezanine and first floor, connected by the main stairway and by a smaller one inside the office.
In this case spaces are organized as fuctional islands where there is no a specific hierarchical order so that people and ideas may circulate freely.
The spaces respect habits and routines, but do not deny room for interpretation or alteration.
The forniture is largely custom-made, mainly large surfaces or storage spaces, because in a place for creativity, the objects of the creative process became the elements that truly give shape to space.
The lighting in this case is more functional than theatrical, by using the same materials as on the ground floor (stertched PVC). The window dimensions have beeen replicated on the ceiling to add homogeneity to the lighting.