The new ISTO store is born from a well-established relationship with the Portuguese clothing brand. Located in the Amoreiras Shopping Center, the project follows the previously defined guidelines for the brand through a design language that simultaneously evokes the post-modern architectural features of the commercial building and embodies the brand’s slogan: “Luxury Essentials made affordable. 100% organic. Transparently made in Portugal.” The “essential” nature of the products is emphasized by the use of base colors – grey, yellow, green, pink and blue; the incorporation of natural stone reinforces the “organic” aspect, and the sense of “transparency” is offered through the use of translucent materials such as acrylic.
The project covers an area of 45m2 and includes a main area dedicated to the display and sale of clothing, a fitting room area with two separate spaces, and a service area for clothing stock storage. The entrance is marked by a massive pink portal, whose full opening to the outside makes the space completely permeable and inviting. The main area of the store features high ceilings, with furniture pieces for displaying clothing. In this area, textured materials such as grooved mortar on the walls and micro-cement on the floor contrast the shine of the metallic, mirrored, and translucent surfaces. At the end of the store’s entrance, the customer counter transitions to a second space with contrasting proportions compared to the main store area. This area features a modular system consisting of metal profiles and light blue wood panels. The structural grid’s precision is broken by a diagonal cut, along which a series of niches open up, adding depth and dynamism to the space. One of these niches provides access to the corridor that distributes the warehouse and the two fitting rooms.
The furniture designed for the store follows the pre-defined logic of existing stores. The customer service counter consists of a metallic piece with a front panel in pink Onyx natural stone. The same stone was used to cover the base of the carts designed by Manuel Amaral Netto. A yellow translucent acrylic linear lamp is suspended above the counter. Using the same material in its transparent version, other components were created, including display shelves, hangers, and dressing room shelves. The metallic shelving for clothing display was also designed to accommodate screens that function as the brand’s advertising panels. The ceiling of the store’s main space is covered with a metallic mesh, under which infrastructure elements, including ventilation, electrical cables, lighting, alarm system, and fire suppression system, were organized. The metallic structure of the ceiling is not intended to hide these elements but to make them visible and an integral part of the project, in line with the brand’s transparency concept.
Materials, lights, textures, and colors come together harmoniously to create an eclectic and sophisticated space where different components bring life to a vibrant and sophisticated environment.
Team:
Architecture: DC.AD, Duarte Caldas
Client: ISTO.
Project Manager: Riccardo Mattioli
Photographs: Francisco Nogueira
