The Madrid studio Adam Bresnick architects has been in charge of designing the renovation of the Pharmacy Artilleros 27 in Moratalaz, Madrid. The new and striking pharmacy was conditioned by the impossibility of expanding the space with adjacent premises. In response to this, the architects placed a 9 sqm dispensing robot to optimize the interior space.

Located in the eastern area of the city of Madrid, the architects decide to change the location of the previous entrance and place the new access to the interior so that it is aligned with the pedestrian route. On the adjacent façade we find the main element of the pharmacy, the large glazed opening with the shape of a cross, which in addition to allowing a view into the interior, also seeks to facilitate recognition of the pharmacy from a distance.
In the rehabilitation carried out by Adam Bresnick architects, the original canopy of the premises is maintained as it reinforces the horizontality of the façade. In addition to this, one of the two owners was in favor of maintaining the original counter screen, while the second prioritized contact with the patient, to which the architects respond by arranging both spaces inside. Having a counter located within the sales area increases the patient's perception of spaciousness.

The selection of the color palette seeks to associate the space with health, beauty and well-being, moving away from the perception of the pharmacy as a space "exclusively" for selling medicines. Luminaires are placed on each shelf to illuminate the displayed product. In addition, the cloud of luminaires, which hang from the high ceiling at a height of 3 m, helps to "hide" the medicines stored at the top of the shelves.


Farmacia Artilleros by Adam Bresnick. Photograph by Amores Pictures
 

Project description by Adam Bresnick architects

The pharmacy lacked the possibility of expanding to adjacent premises and could only grow by optimizing its storage capacity through a robot. The large dimensions of the robot (9 sqm) compared to those of the premises (40 sqm) implied a reorganization of the interior layout and the position of the entrance.

By modifying the access, it is now aligned with the pedestrian path and framed by the hedges of the adjacent green areas. At the same time, the foreshortened view of the pharmacy is prioritized, making the white volume that is pierced by the large cross the protagonist of the facade.

This large opening in the facade has the function of allowing the pharmacy to be recognized as such from a great distance since the opposite corner of the cross is more than 60 meters away.
At the same time, the glass shelving in the same opening allows pedestrians walking along the facade to see the products on display.

The upper and lower black bands make it possible to solve the encounters between the white volume and the steeply sloping sidewalks without it losing its significance. It also makes it possible to organize the relationship between the two tiled panels and the large cross.


Farmacia Artilleros by Adam Bresnick. Photograph by Amores Pictures

The canopy is an original element of the building that has been reinforced as a horizontal element by placing a corporeal typography of very vertical proportions on it.

The protagonist of the interior layout is a double dichotomy. On the one hand, the shortage of storage space in the congested space of the store is set against the needs of an orderly sales area with attractive colors. At the same time, the requirements imposed by the two owners clash: one of them opts to keep a partition behind the counter in a traditional manner, while the other wants to prioritize patient contact. Each of them has a counter that is true to its own characteristics.
The fact of having a free-standing counter located inside the sales area allows to increase the surface of this area and thus increase the patient's perception of spaciousness despite the small size of the premises.


Farmacia Artilleros by Adam Bresnick. Photograph by Amores Pictures

The store has a height of 3 m and has sought to take advantage of this feature for storage. The cloud of luminaires in the sales area has the secondary function of hiding the products in the upper floors when they are backlit.

The selection of the color palette seeks to associate the space with health, beauty and wellness, moving away from the perception of the pharmacy as a space (exclusively) for the sale of medicines.

The illumination of the product is produced by placing luminaires on each shelf, emphasizing the accent of light on the genre.

With all of the above, it is possible to organize a space of limited dimensions, organizing the facade on two scales and drawing the attention of the patient from two opposing conceptions.

More information

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Architects
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Project Team
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Adam Bresnick, Miguel Peña, Cora García, Pablo Sebastián Baldó.
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Collaborators
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equipo.exe.
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Client
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Pharmacy Artilleros.
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Builder
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Intervallum.
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Area
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40 sqm.
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Dates
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2022.
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Location
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Calle Pico de los Artilleros, Madrid, Spain.
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Photography
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Adam Bresnick architects is an international design practice. Based in Madrid, Spain for over twenty-five years their work encompasses residential and commercial, interiors and landscape, furniture design and historic preservation, with a focus on a comprehensive approach to design. This range of scales includes urbanism and city planning, building and interior design and construction itself, where ideas are transformed into reality. The interdependence of these different scales makes their work unique.

They have worked on many international projects, including Russia, Romania, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States and their projects are widely known thanks to international publications and web sites.

Adam Bresnick attended the University of Maryland for his bachelor of science in architecture, received his master degree in Architecture from Princeton University, and his PhD from the Polytechnic University in Madrid. A book based on his thesis was published under the title La Diva en Casa: arquitectura para artistas, in 2011.

Adam Bresnick has taught Interior Design at the Instituto Europeo di Design (1996-2006), set design and its history at Madrid’s Royal School for Dramatic Arts (2010-2013), studio at the Architecture School of the Universidad CEU San Pablo (2006-to the present), and currently coordinates the Master Degree in Retail Interior Design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño, Madrid, where he teaches interior design (2013-to the present).

He has been a visiting critic at the University of Pennsylvania (Abril 1999) and the University of Syracuse, NY (May 2012), has lectured at the School of Architecture of Toledo, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha (Feb 2013), Universidad de Sevilla (Abril 2015), the Shchusev Museum of Architecture, Moscow (Oct 2014), and Detalli Design School, Moscow (Nov 2017).
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