11-July-2016 This new Printemps department store, designed by Antonio Virga Architect, is the figurehead of the «Polygone Riviera» retail park opened in Cagnes-sur-Mer (06) since October 2015. The building develops itself on 4 levels from R-1 to R+2 with a total net floor area of 7 000 sq.m. (75 350 sq.ft). The work led on the light, graphics and staging is central to the reasoning on this architectural project.
THE SPIRIT OF THE PROJECT With implantation, size and main volumes imposed at the beginning of the project, the architectural style helps to create an identifiable location for Printemps and a lighthouse building in the Polygone Riviera retail park. Four major themes guided the design of the project. They compose a charter to convey a spirit faithful to the brand, specifically conjugated to its environment: - Subtract, align and repeat Acts of simplification who sign a clean, readable architecture. - Implement an iconic decorative pattern The flower, Printemps’ historic symbol, is reinterpreted to become an identifying and structuring graphic unit. - Anchor the building in its geographical context A specific work on shadows and light - Embody the fashion and luxury worlds Golden color, attention to detail and contrast of materials are staged here to express creativity and boldness
THE FACADES The simplification and alignment of the volumetry helps to prioritizes the building reading. The materials, limited to three, reinforce this impression: - Stone It is dedicated to the main volume. In a light color, it is laid in staggered rows to create a kinetic chessboard under the daylight. - Metal The two volumes bulging outward the façades are the communication support. They express the nature of the building and its spirit linked to fashion and refinement. They are the carriers of the Printemps brand. They stand out by wearing a golden metal fishnet. During the day, the perforations projects cast shadows on the stone. At night, a backlight gives another, more dreamlike, reading of the building: the facades are illuminated in the manner of petals falling. - Glass The entrance of the store is signaled by a large window display on 3 levels. To enhance the will of communication, this window is framed as a screen. Inside, a full height wall features backlit metal petals. The rest of the window is entirely left transparent in order to keep maximum visibility on the retail space, and to let the natural light in
EXTERIOR / INTERIOR RELATIONSHIP The wills expressed in the general concept of the project are developed both inside and outside the project, in order to create coherence and landmarks in the different areas, as well as to further affirm the imprint of Printemps. Purity as a guideline The exterior sobriety, expressed through the simplification of volumes and materials, becomes one of the rules for the creation of interior spaces: simple volumes organized in a grid space, light neutral tones. Identifying pattern A design has been specially created for the brand in line with its values and its history. This is a pattern imagined from the flower, symbol of Printemps’s heritage. The petals become a simple geometric shape, repeated in order to materialize a weft, an identifying frame. This pattern becomes the Printemps signature on the project. It coats the facade and is the only decorative element inside the building, where it comes in various sizes and materials: • a large golden latticework in the atrium • smaller white latticeworks which highlights the Printemps areas and rhythm circulations • white smashed casings which signs some Printemps elements (cash desks, columns, separations between brands) • it conceals some technical elements It is the repetition of this pattern and the fact that it exists in a sober context, that reinforce the presence of the brand, becoming an iconic element of the project
THE ATRIUM The atrium is the backbone of the project. Keystone of the vertical circulation and highlight of the customer journey, this area is treated as a transition element between the facade and interior design. It is also a place of event, a place of the unexpected, which guides the consumer through all levels. Here again, the metal mesh rises. It coats the atrium on both sides and the ceiling like a curtain. It is set parallel to the direction of the escalators and lets the sky to be seen, visible through the material’s transparency. This is a golden ribbon that develops on three floors, from ground floor to the ceiling of the second floor. It filters the light of the glass roof, acting as a latticework towards the sales floor. White surfaces, continuous lines and simplified details offers a clear background reinforcing the presence of the pattern in the atrium
WEFT OF THE INTERIOR DESIGN The plan is clear and legible through an alignment of the elements: • coffered ceilings crisscrossing every level of the building • floors structuring space • poles coated in order to reinforce the frame
The ceilings The coffered ceiling system is established through a post and beam frame, which part is to structure space, to order it, to measure it. Except on the ground floor, networks are deliberately left exposed. The idea, conducted under the leadership of Printemps, provides more flexibility in the organization and takes into account future developments. The framing of the networks in these boxes follows strict principles of alignment that maintains an orderly writing. The track lighting are arranged in a staggered way in order to create a rhythm, recalling the facade’ stone layage. Printemps areas are enhanced by suspended bells in staff that bite on the paths as an invitation to approach.
The floors The treatment of the various floor coverings reflect the general principles of the project: flexibility, simplicity, clarity, elegance. Two materials are found on the ground floor: a beige/sand stone with a random pattern layout used for the central space and wooden flooring with large light and matt oak planks onto the periphery. Their direction changes according to their position in the store, in order to differentiate circulations from retail outlets. On the other floors, parquet is the only flooring.
The posts They play a part in the frame game and reinforce it thanks to their alignment, their repetition and design (treatment of surfaces with various finishes). They rythm the areas with the golden color.
17-Mar-2016 With main volumes imposed at the beginning of the project, the architectural style comes here to create an identifiable location for Printemps in the Polygone Riviera retail park. Several themes make up a charter in order to transmit a spirit faithful to the brand, outside and inside the building: - sobriety and alignments of the volumes on each facade - organization of the spaces following a frame: coffered ceilings crisscrossing all levels and framing networks (sometimes left exposed), posts reinforcing the frame. - reinterpretation of the flower, Printemps's historical symbol: creation of a pattern from the petals, implemented at various scales as sole decoration. It is the repetition of the graphics, and the fact that it exists in a very sober context, that reinforces the brand presence in the place. It is therefore becoming an iconic element of the project. Backlit façades give the building a dream-reading at night, like petals falling. - the Mediterranean and southern typical sunshine: games with the natural light thanks to latticeworks and layers of the natural clear stone) - golden color and attention to detail, as atribute to fashion and luxury.