in the loop _interior by Smaran Mallesh from india

In the Loop
We were approached with a 2 storied shell to house a retail store for floor and wall finishes. Experience and identity are core issues that we are interested in. We altered the section of the shell by adding a lower ground and a mezzanine within a bay of the orthogonal structural grid. The store is showcased in and around a continuous loop that rises from the ground, forms the mezzanine, wraps around the billing counter and splits to form a spiral surface which connects to the floor above. Variations along the surface of the loop give it depth. The graphic lines heighten the loop’s sensuality while the laser cut pattern along the underside of the loop ornaments the plane and in turn the ceiling. The loop not only connects the different parts of the store, it also orchestrates the variation of space within. A customer walks into a large double height space, moves up the loop to a more intimate space with a view across the floor. The under belly of the loop encloses a dark space meant to showcase semiprecious stone cladding. The spiral staircase is a punctuation mark, a transition to the floor above.