Nicolas Andreas Taralis boutique

Description of the project by Bernard Dubois

Faced with an unusual triangular plan of the location, the NAT architectural identity and its orthogonal expression needed a re-thinking to fit within this container. The solution was to introduce a radical new geometry, breaking with the linearity of the previously developed design language. Therefore, a stark white curved wall interrupts the rigor and symmetry of the previous designs, adding an unexpected visual dynamic into the architectural vocabulary of the brand.

This curved segment also creates tension with the light-box ceiling that covers the entire surface of the boutique, another immediately identifiable element that defines the brand. The rhythm of all walls, mirrors and clothing rails is based on the plan of the ceiling grid. The 45° direction of the light-box ceiling plays with the ambiguous geometry of the square and the rhombus, bringing all elements of the design into a geometric whole. When entering frontally into the shop, the grid appears to be oblique, whereas deeper into the shop it appears straight.

The depth of the plan is further accentuated by the continuous curved wall that starts at the front of the boutique guiding the visitor far into the back in a single uninterrupted movement. The use of only one 20 meters long clothing rail (which also runs into the heart of the shop) further underscores the notion of depth and encourages the visitor towards the more intimate space beyond. All other walls are left bare either clad in framed full-height mirrors or in black satin lacquered metal.

The pristine white of the curved wall contrasts markedly with the deep black monolith changing rooms situated just opposite & adjacent to a 30 meter long window that opens into the shopping mall. Within the monolith are installed two 10 meter long changing rooms whose length is again further accentuated through the judicious placement of a full-height mirror, expanding the perspective of the rooms to 20 meters long (by a mere 1.5 meters wide). The interplay between these two opposing geometries (wall and monolith) creates an unexpected and surprising harmony.