Guimaguas Store, Barcelona (Spain)
TEST Guillermo Santomà- Type Shop Renovation
- Material Textile
- Date 2023 - 2024
- City Barcelona
- Country Spain
- Photographer Gregori Civera
From tapestry to wall. In essence, this was the Copernican turn Semper took with his principle of cladding, whereby structure gave up its protagonism in architecture in favor of Bekleidung: though humans learned to use durable materials, he held that the origin of construction lay in primitive textiles. This led to a new understanding of spatial enclosures, analogous to clothes on our bodies. In a near-literal application of his ideas, a series of hangings is the only element used in building the first physical shop of a fashion brand that became a hit online.
On the ground level of a building in the Eixample, the narrow space is lined with concrete canvas, a geosynthetic material that hardens on hydration, forming a continuum hiding storage spaces. A tray of luminaires reaching all the way back from the entrance produces a uniform light that gives the folds the rough allure of the monastic robes painted by Zurbarán that so fascinate fashion designers.