Project: PRETTY NEW
Architects: ME Arquitetura
Location: Brasilia, Brazil
Area: 3,767 sf
Photographs by: Madu Jardim
PRETTY NEW by ME Arquitetura
We believe the physical space of a store should be an extension of the brand’s identity and philosophy. This was our approach to designing PRETTY NEW, a luxury item thrift store e-commerce with a sustainable approach.
The new headquarters are, simultaneously, operational and also focused on the consumer. We sectored the spaces, with the functional part of the team on one side, and the showroom, fitting rooms and café on the opposite end.
The CEO’s office bridges the gap, with corrugated glass integrating the spaces without sacrificing privacy. The first impact upon arrival is a reinforcement of the brands position as an e-commerce, with a neon sign, the exposed pre-stressed slab, and a countertop with tablets to access their website.
The color pink, young and fun, blends well with the industrial aspect of the metalwork and exposed concrete. We included petroleum green in the brand’s visual identity palette to mark its new era.
The luxury thrift store has always positioned itself as innovative, and we developed a custom material for the countertops to reflect this. A white concrete base, with larger aggregates and fragments of hand-picked granite and marble from our palette. The store’s fast paced growth made a 350m2 space necessary, and so we decided to reuse and repurpose the existing furniture and cabinetry, using black metalwork and pine wood, reflecting the company´s sustainable ethos. We also studied the arriving products’ internal flux, and the floor plan is organized accordingly.
There is an in/out space, sanitation area, photography studio, inventory, and an office space for the team with a private half-bath and kitchen. The café creates a meeting point for the community, thus attracting more clients.
The fitting rooms have arched doorways, reinforcing the curved motif, present in many places in the project, and have ample space for a personalized curatorship. Striking and original elements, in a reduced yet impactful palette, come together to translate an already established concept of the e-commerce into a physical space that is an extension of the brand.
-Project description and images provided by ME Arquitetura
Plans
