Arpel Store #2

THE PROJECT CONFRONTS WITH THE HISTORIC BUILDING THROUGH CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS AND MATERIALS STONE ARCHES

The Arpel store is located in Ragusa Ibla, in the heart of the historical center.

The project has confronted with a former warehouses in the main street of the city, an important forum bound by the superintendence and located in front of the palace Donnafugata.

The building of the former warehouse presents a very interesting interior space determined by the succession of five large stone arches, where rest on the beams of gable roof.

The new design of the store plans to leave unchanged the quality of this internal space, almost similar to a basilica, and introduces a continuous coating of the roof’s intrados and side walls.

Such a coating is made of raw anthracite pine planks of different sizes and juxtaposed, leaving a gap of 4 cm. It also contains a linear LED illumination system and a system of Mastercolor halide point-light lighting.

The furniture are made of unworked sheet metal, protected with a matte finish transparent resin.

The floor is made with a polished oak planks with anthracite finish. The project confronts with the historic building through contemporary designs and materials, left deliberately raw and natural, that are well suited to the historical character of the existing strong walls and stone arches.