Blè headquarters
retail flagship building
Thessaloniki, Greece
subject to planning permission
2008
6000 sqm
Headquarters for a company trading in food and fashion, located in an A road just outside Thessaloniki.
The ground floor is dedicated to a food court open to the public, the first floor is dedicated to fashion, open to retailers only, and the top floor is for events and occasional fashion shows.
The aim of the project is to communicate the strength and unity of the company, despite its diverse trading activities and, in the meantime, to show the variety of the center.
Taking into consideration the strong sun of Thessaloniki and the fact that from each floor of the building there are no quality views, our winning proposal has facades perforated by 30x30 mm square holes in order to screen the sunlight and to create an ethereal light feature from the inside. The outside skin is made in white stone.
The density of the holes changes at each floor according to the level of public flow. The ground floor has more holes then the top floor.
This elegant pattern gives an aura of candour and mystery.
The pleasant sound of the waterfall falling into the water feature is meant to cover the noise of the cars coming from the road.
credits
Claudio Silvestrin and Giuliana Salmaso with Vincenzo Aiossa, Tania Giorgi, Philippe Morel, Stefania Odell
