ALTRNTV

Authors’ Comment

ALTRNTV is a sustainable concept store, where the focus is on the impact that products have on the environment, from the amount of water used in the production of a t-shirt to the carbon footprint of each product on the shelf. The location of the store is Blvd. Regina Elisabeta, in the former lobby of the Cinema Bucuresti.

The client's brief came in line with the type of products they wanted to sell. They wanted a sustainable space created with reused, recycled materials, with a small carbon footprint, and actions that reduce the environmental impact. We enjoyed the brief, the requests for such spaces being almost non-existent in Romania.

Our approach started primarily from choosing the materials and considering construction actions in the provided space. We have reused the existing to the greatest extent by cleaning the travertine and using it as a main feature of the concept, together with the ceiling and its light in the main room. The two present elements influenced the choice of the other materials.

The travertine surface was large, part of it being quite damaged. It was necessary to propose some showcase systems that would hide part of the areas damaged by time and exploitation and that connect through materiality, colour, and shape with the travertine. In regards with the showcase systems, the assembly mounted on the walls had a double role: that of hiding the damage and enhance the existing materials, and the role of highlighting the in-store experience and its products. Respecting our client brief, the floor chosen was a successful solution, being a 90% reused and malleable material, which was easy to implement.

The practice of our studio is to have a profound comprehension of the materials we use in all our projects, and the various ways in which we can exploit them.

Together with Tarkett Romania, the sponsor of the material, and the fitters, we managed to create a flooring concept that would serve the space very well, which also embodied the idea of fashion pattern as the client has a clothing production workshop with reused materials. We wanted to integrate the idea of a sustainable shop with that of a sustainable fashion workshop through the discreet use of floor joining elements, a pattern which is also used in fashion.

The other materials used were slightly reused from the production of custom furniture suppliers that were covered with the same Tarkett material and locally recovered laminated plywood. Here we had as partners PabGroup who were very cooperative in finding solutions. The choice of lighting was also in accordance with the brief discussed, our collaborators from Signify having in their portfolio projectors made of recycled plastic. Lighting in a commercial space is very important. We were happy to find in the market products with specific architectural and technical lighting, that responded to our theme of sustainability and low carbon footprint. Together with them, we also integrated a lighting system that can adapt to natural light for optimal consumption.

We believe that all these actions: using the existing travertine, the decorative elements, the choice of sustainable materials, the low impact systems and collaboration with local producers have conceptualize the first sustainable design stores in Romania. We wish to design as many such consciously sustainable spaces as possible.