space to
decelerate
AMRITSAR The real intention behind the
gallery-like store seems to be about inviting
consumers to browse at their absolute leisure
instead of experiencing the retail equivalent
of fast-food takeaways. In short, such spaces
are asking their customers to slow down.
But where art galleries have the advantage
of content that usually leads to contempla-
tion, stores are another kettle of fish. While
galleries can be white open rooms, the various
works of art indicating the route through the
space, some retailers are employing other
strategies to decelerate shoppers.
One such strategy is labyrinthine.
Rather than being able to take in the entire
room from the front door and potentially
about-turning without further exploration,
visitors are (subconsciously?) nudged down a
complex path. In the city of Amritsar in north-
west India, Studio Renesa did just that for
home decor brand Rustickona. Even though
they created what they call a gallery – in that
it both literally and figuratively puts products
on pedestals – the New Delhi-designers used
curved partitions made of brick to build
spatial complexity. Their main focus was to
‘create an indigenous and deconstructed feel-ing’, something that is ‘in a state of constant
change and experimentation, much like a
gallery would be’. They envisioned visitors
meandering along a route that feels organi-
cally formed but is also carefully directed by
the architects themselves.
Without the caveat of having to
provide a neutral backdrop for objects, the
designers could inject rich materiality into
the 120-m^2 interior. To preserve a sense of
uniformity within the space, they limited the
palette to raw concrete and red brick. The
benefit of the latter is threefold. Firstly, the
use of brick is a nod to its prominence in the
vernacular architecture of India. The mate-
rial’s colour and form also set the tone for
the brand’s identity, turning the space into
a giant logo of sorts without feeling overly
commercial. Lastly, perforations in the brick
afford subtle glimpses of the objects and space
beyond the screens, adding to the sense of
intrigue. This final aspect seems particularly
relevant in the era of information overload,
when it’s hard to focus on one thing at a time.
In that respect, the store may just be a gallery
after all. TI
studiorenesa.comWe’ve heard a lot of talk of late about retailers positioning their stores
as ‘galleries’, but what does that really mean? For some it’s a matter
of taking a curated approach to their merchandise, while others are
displaying their wares as if they were one-off – almost unattainable
- items. In India, a home decor store does both, while adding another
element to the equation: curved partition walls that help shoppers
to slow down.
Studio Renesa envisioned visitors
meandering along a retail route that
feels organically formed but is also
carefully directed by the architects
themselves.
104 Spaces