The project is a chance to create an intense and relevant design in the Middle East while linking and incorporating the world of fashion and Architecture. The project furthermore deals with different aspects present in today’s architectural discourse: from the creation of a collective and integrated space within the city fabric, to that of the use of eco-sustainable building materials.
Not only does it create a collective cross-cultural urban space therefore personifying the Benetton brand, but the building elements are a true manifestation of Benetton’s corporate identity.
A composition of colourful, dynamic fragments that suggests a loose connection that allows for individual interpretation. Through this ‘family of coloured elements’ it hints at a spatial organization which generates fluid spaces.
Like a conceptual Mashrabiya or veil, it conveys an atmosphere that creates an original space that through a ‘transparent barrier’ is both public and private, allowing therefore life and light to percolate from one space to another.
It is especially this connection and dialogue between the interior and exterior, together with a dynamic and creative interior space that personify the sense of openness and ideology behind the Benetton Brand. The resulting architecture is one that at night is not just simply light filled voids, but a beckon that reaches out and becomes even more present in the city. Source by Matteo Cainer Architects.
Location: Middle East (undisclosed)
Architects: Matteo Cainer Architects
Client: Benetton
Function: Flagship store Benetton
Images: Lionel Arnould, Matteo Cainer Architects, Courtesy of Matteo Cainer Architects