In this optical store in Thessaloniki, Post Spectacular Office – P,SO using the contradiction between shiny glossy surfaces and raw unfinished elements in space, make a comment on “correlation of dualities”. The project received a merit on the category Retail, at last year’s Grail Awards.
– glass alchemies: All normal clear glass has a light green hue to it, caused by the iron content in the glass. Iron oxide comes from the sand or cask that the glass was melted in. The higher the iron levels, the greener the hue –
Space description
Two former identical side to side properties where united to create one 70 m2 eyeware retail store in the suburbs of Thessaloniki. This dual mirrored nature was retained and highlighted, emphasising the structural elements (e.g. the two storefronts, the symmetrical beams and columns). The floor plan was organised around a central storage element with the aim of achieving unobstructed perimeter movement around it.
The private areas (extra storage, optometry lab, wc, kitchen) were organised at the back of the store, without cutting off totally the visual contact with the rest of the area. The two main display areas were developed in an identical mirrored way upon the wall surfaces and the storefront is kept uncomplicated and open to the interiors.
Concept description
The main idea was the “correlation of dualities”: the natural and the technical, the scientific and the human, the fragile and the rigid, the solid and the segmented, the fragmental and the robust, the uncompleted and the definitive, the repetitiveness and the singularity.
Shiny glossy surfaces contradict with the unfinished shell, underlining the space and its ascending progression through time.
The hybrid quality of the space, the nature of the surroundings are being reflected in broken mirrors and shiny lacquered green tinted surfaces creating ever-changing in between spectacles while moving around the place.
Facts & Credits
Project title The life of Glass
Typology Retail
Location Thessaloniki
Architecture Post Spectacular Office – P,SO
Photography Post Spectacular Office – P,SO
Text provided by the architects
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