Singapore Architect

Inspired by the term brick-and-mortar, which means a physical presence of a business or organization, we designed a multi-label kitchen appliances shop using cement bricks. The space is carefully assembled using a commonplace palette of hollow cement bricks, ordinary unadorned plywood & unwanted off-cut stones.

We have always felt that there is more than what we see in ordinary materials. In this project, we decided to pare open an ordinary brick to reveal its intricate fluted core. Using that we tessellate it into a series of freestanding walls, benches & reception counter. The raw tactility from the bricks creates soulful textures when natural light gently filters into the space.

We felt that unadorned plywood is a sensible choice of material simply because it will never be discontinued unlike laminates thus giving the client the assurance that material consistencies can be managed for any future retrofitting works to accommodate new appliances.

The flooring is made up of unwanted off-cut marble that was unreasonably rejected from brutal dry lays due to its natural blemishes & uneven tonalities. We convinced the client that there is so much value in this “waste”. We laid them in a crazy paving setting & finishing them in honed texture. The approach to using natural waste material lies in its humbleness and simplicity in respecting nature, in this case where natural stones are formed through many years of weathering and layering process, they should not be thrown into the wasteland.

All the materials selected were deliberately matte or honed making the metallic or glossy appliances stand out when displayed.

The resultant space creates a refreshing atmospheric retail experience where guests are able to explore and immerse themselves in a unique setting that provides a fresh ground for shopping. Lastly we believe there is beauty found in the ordinary.