Blossom Store Design
This is a recent competition entry for a retail chain in Japan The Blossom Store The store concept
Blossom explores the
opportunities present in the morphologies of floral entities as point of
departure for the design of architectural conditions. The sensorial and spatial
experiences co-notated with the manifold qualities of blooming flowers, from
their topological qualities and the distribution of sepals and petals to form
the body of the flower, are scrutinized for their architectural qualities and
incorporated in the design of Blossom. Even the olfactory qualities could be implied as
substantial part of the design. To include the programmatic elements of a store
the concept of delamination is applied. In delaminating layers from the
surrounding envelope of the store, pockets of varying sizes are generated.
These pockets include, according to their size elements like office, storage,
changing booths and elements that could be used as presentation tablets.
System:
Although the
designs visual appearance is of heterogeneous nature, the underlying logic of
the design is informed by a repetitive system related to the allover theme of
floration. Nodes represent the core components of the system, connecting a
specific variety of petals. This system of node and petal form the innermost
layer of the delamination effect described above. The second layer provides the
store with the necessary depth to include programmatic points, tagging along
the node and petal system in its morphology. The third layer is comprised by a
simple box, which represents in the renderings a possible space provided for the
store in an existing building. This outermost layer bears a vivid coloration in
order to bleed the color into the glossy white interior.
The described system is highly pliable, providing a wide range of opportunities for various setups. It can be applied to different envelopes, independent from their shape. Additionally the various layers can be used in multiple combinations to populate different environments. The store can occupy an empty space, it can be setup to perform as a pavilion by combining the two inner layers, or it can accommodate itself in a shop-in-shop scenario by using the innermost layer only. Appearance
Fabrication:
The fabrication process relies on computational fabrication methods extensively. The nodes, the most complex part of the project, are CNC milled elements. These nodes are connected by the petals, which comprise of water jet cutted flat panels. These panels are laminated to provide the necessary structural integrity. In order to reduce the energy consumption in this project a twofold method is applied: On the one hand the strict application of computational workflow in the design and fabrication process, providing the chance to minimize material and energy consumption in the making. On the other hand the use of natural, biologically degradable materials to minimize pollution effects. Some of the possible solutions include the use of pressed cocoa fibers panels, wood for the nodes, biopolymers for the glossy white coating, and OLEDS (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) for the illumination of the space.
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