NEW H&M SHOP IN PORTAL DE L’ÀNGEL IN BARCELONA A design project aimed at creating excitement among the customers that go into the shop. Excitement at buying clothes and also to be shopping in a pleasant, comfortable, unique place. To make sure that the area is the setting for a pleasant, fun-filled experience. Second objective: that the clothes should find their own place, that the distribution of the shop should order the exhibition of the clothes and the routes. Design at the service of the shop’s activity, never the other way round. The new H&M shop is found in the most commercial street of Barcelona, Portal de l’Àngel, in the building which was, until recently, the head office of the company Catalana de Gas. The original building, which is listed, is a vestige of the bourgeois architecture from the end of the 19th century, and is the work of Domènech Estapà, an architect who was opposed to the Modernista movement and more inclined towards a neo-classical style. The fact that it is listed and the architectural style of the building were two premises that partly marked our project. The listing was, on the one hand, a real headache in complying with the heritage regulations. But, on the other hand, it was an opportunity to work on a space with noucentista proportions; from a time when square metres were not measured in terms of profitability, hence the huge staircase and the empty space that reaches up into the dome. A genuine old-fashioned luxury. The change of use of the building was another conditioning factor for the project. We converted an area destined to be the offices of an important company into a modern clothes shop aimed, mainly, at young people, lovers of the latest trends. This meant approaching the project by trying to conciliate the “old” with the “new”. A remorse, bourgeois, baroque dialogue with a pop, modern, contemporary style.
We were very respectful with the different architectural features. We made a great effort to reform the building, highlighting the aspects which, over time and the different uses of the building in its latest stage, had been removed or altered. Things like the dome, the three public rooms, the staircase well and the imperial staircase. We conceived an ephemeral interior architecture, composed of features that can be added and removed. A second exempt skin was superimposed on the old architecture, creating a new image, without blurring the original. This, which could have been an obstacle throughout the project, became an incentive as it finally helped us to achieve a multipurpose space which is flexible, modular and versatile. The objective, at all times, was to order the product to show H&M collections in the best possible way, which is why the second skin is neutral, in black and white. The building is so large —1,720 square meters— that we tried to flee from monotony so that the new layout would have rhythm. Not just a rhythm in the formal aspect, but also in the intensity with which each area is experienced. To achieve this, we prepared surprises, changes of atmosphere, each with its own personality, different from the previous one. In this way, the route is more dynamic, as each corner creates expectation. Our aim was to add a “plus” of excitement and emotion for H&M customers. We used pieces of puzzles to achieve an open design, which creates disparate situations that resolve, invade or colonise each corner of the space. To create furniture that responds to this modular need, we used metal that is superimposed and contrasts with the original wood and stone. This shop was also conceived as a laboratory. It is a flag ship, an insignia shop. A logistical laboratory in which we studied how to make a storeroom that would enable the rails to be continuously restocked. We also concentrated on on how best to display the clothes. We investigated new ways of showing them and making the most of them. Shelves, rails and hangers, modules, Meccano ceiling fittings were designed bearing in mind the various sizes of the garments and the H&M accessories.
In the entrance, we started an explosion of light, colour and movement, through the LED screens. This entrance works as a shop window, shop sign and access. The communication between the interior and the exterior, which normally happens through the shop window, in this case consists of a virtual shop window. The pedestrian street is a flood of people that the entrance to H&M absorbs like a vacuum cleaner. To respect the faรงade, a minimal logo was placed. The three public rooms on the first floor of the building, which used to be the offices of the directors of Catalana de Gas, have been restored and are integrated into the shopping space, as they have been given a new use. In these three rooms, the contrast between old and new is more evident, as the wooden display cabinets, the chimneys and the original wooden dais have been preserved and share the space with the new metal furnishings. The staircase and the dome are two very important features of the alteration. We have emphasised the stairwell, the emptiness created by the staircase. The new staircase that has been built is not as important as the stairwell through which the light from the dome that tops the building travels. This central atrium communicates the floors and allows the natural light to pervade the interior. The cone is a metaphor, a symbol of rising up into the heights, a spiral towards the sky to capture the light. In the new basement, sculptural features are integrated providing colour and identity to the space. A series of cactuses, in organic shapes, upholstered in materials in bright colours spatter the area and give it character. In addition to the interior design and the design of the furniture, Estudio Mariscal was responsible for the lighting and its image and communication. It is important to recognise, in a project such as this one, the creative freedom that H&M gave us at all times and the cordial, fluent relationship we have had with the client during all the stages of the project.
ESTUDIO MARISCAL
GROUND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
LOWER GROUND
Photography by Rafael Vargas The copy rights of these images are duty-free and belong to H&M: Ona.Bascunan@hm.com 路 T. +34 932 608 660 The copy rights of these images belong to Rafael Vargas: comunicacion@rafaelvargas.com 路 T. +34 932 463 602
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Interior design & architecture:Javier Mariscal , Team Estudio Mariscal: Lara R. Pérez-Porro; Silvia del Val, Llibert Casanova Graphic Design: Javier Mariscal, Team Estudio Mariscal: Blanca Cumellas Audiovisuals: Javier Mariscal, Team Estudio Mariscal: Arnau Quiles Promoter: H&M Surface area: 1,500 m2 Realisation: 2008 Constructor: Dula Bau Commercial fittings: Dula Ibérica Structure: nb35 Technical architecture and fittings: MC Arquitectura e Ingeniería LEDs (supply): BARCO LEDs (Installation and assembly): SONO Lighting: iGuzzini Restoration: Artecc Aluminium steps: Alcan Continuous flooring: Pavindus Furnishings: Personal shopper area: Guitarra chair, designed by J. Mariscal for Uno Design Public room 3: Zodiac sofa, designed by J. Mariscal for Uno Design Shop area: Guitarra stools and seats Changing rooms: Stools designed by Estudio Mariscal for H&M Sculpture: Pere Casanova sculpture workshop
TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE MATERIALS
The material is predominantly metal in contrast with the stone and the marble of the original architecture. It is found on the panels that cover the wall, in the furnishings and in the stairs. The panels on the wall are 4-mm thick sheets of iron that have been laser cut and oven-painted in matt white. On the central furnishings on the first floor, as well as on the columns of the basement, panels of the same thickness are used, combined with glass laminated with coloured butyl in the shelves. In the case of the central furnishings on the ground floor, they are made of ash panels stained in orange, leaving the grain visible and 4-mm iron panels, oven-painted in matt white. The ceiling panels are also in 1,5-mm thick iron sheets, oven-painted in matt white. The furnishings in the public rooms on the first floor consist of a base of wood conglomerate panel with a lacquered matt white finish. The shelves are in grey stained ash. The back of the piece is also done in wood conglomerate, but this time upholstered in fabric from Kvadrat. In places that need to support weight, 4-mm laser cut iron panels have been used, oven-painted in matt white. In the changing rooms, we used wood conglomerate panels with a glossy white stratified finish. The joins between the panels were dealt with by using a metal U-shaped profile, oven-painted in matt black. The box display consists of a piece of furniture in wood conglomerate lacquered in orange and on “Hi-macs�. The front lining is made with 4-mm thick iron panels, oven-painted in matt white. The baskets, as well as the accessory panels, are made of a sheet of coloured laser cut Perspex and an aluminium frame oven-painted in matt white.
TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE MATERIALS
The central staircase combines the same iron panel which is 4-mm thick in the case of the lower lining and 6 mm at the sides. The flight up to the first floor was painted white and the flight down to the basements was painted orange. In both cases, satinfinish paint was used. Aluminium was used for the steps; an extruded aluminium profile from Alcan. The steps leading down to the basement and for the entrance stairs from Portal de l’Àngel and Passeig del Patriarca are 40 mm thick and in the case of the main staircase to the first floor they are 57 mm thick. The riser is made of a 2-mm base of aluminium panel. The banisters are of 6+6 laminated glass finished off with a matt stainless steel U-shaped profile. For the floors, “Masterly” continuous flooring from Pavindus was used, which does not require joins, based on natural cements and mineral loads with different sized granules. It is flooring with a high mechanical resistance superior to that of concrete. The screens in the entrance are based on LEDs. On the risings on the floor “MISTRIP” from BARCO was used. It is a compact strip that contains RGB LEDs. On the walls and ceiling, “MITRIX” was used, also from BARCO. In this case, it is a lighter 192 x 384 mm piece which allows some transparency between the LEDs, giving a lighter appearance. All the fabrics used for the curtains, upholstery, stools and sofas are from Kvadrat.
IMAGE AND COMMUNICATION FOR H&M IN PORTAL DE L’ÀNGEL
The graphics come from the H&M slogan “Fashion available for everybody”, which is probably the great discovery of the Swedish company. Diverse clothes for diverse people. The H&M trend is the sum of many trends and many styles. Children, young people, not so young people, more mature people and veterans can find something here that adapts to their personality. People who wear the very latest, neo-hippies, the glamorous, the modern, fashion victims, housewives, models and schoolgirls will all find “something” to wear here. The graphics we have designed for the image and communication of the new Portal de l’Àngel shop follow the thread of this “everybody” idea. The twelve faces of which this image and communication project for H&M is made up represent “everybody”. They form a melting pot of ordinary people who, thanks to the hand of Javier Mariscal, become “cover faces” integrated into the layout design, in which the logo of H&M is the head. These twelve anonymous faces take on their own personality and build the image and the communication of this H&M shop. It is a fresh, colourful image that causes a graphical impact; it attracts one’s eyes and leaves its mark on a corner of your memory. And now that it is covering hoardings, illuminated signs, bags and pieces of paper that get passed from hand to hand and that invade the urban landscape, we wanted to be sure that it was, at least, a friendly image, that integrates without causing tension. Faces of diverse people who are ordinary, like everybody.
ESTUDIO MARISCAL Pellaires 30-38 08019 Barcelona Espa単a www.mariscal.com