Casa Boutique | Tobia Zambotti

Casa in Italian is home, but it's also the feeling of homeliness, of belonging, of being safe and comfortable.
Casa is a multi-brand retailer from Reykjavik (founded in 1977). Casa deals with a refined selection of home & décor products. Casa is a place dedicated to the design which makes a house a home.
In Austurhöfn - the most recent development of the old Reykjavík harbour - Casa rethinks its retail approach and builds a house for its homely products and the people who will enjoy them.

In the new store the concept of house is developed in conjunction with that of the modern retail space. Materials and light are used to define "rooms" dedicated to the object they accommodate and design to be the backdrop out of which they stand. The grey hues predominant in the design follow this function, utilizing shapes and composition to shape the space and present its inhabitants and their multifaceted character. Far from being just a backdrop though, the store is strongly defined by its shapes and strong finishes, as well as by the splashes of colour added by the bright orange canvas and the exotic plants.
Just like the elegant shelving it is made of, the function of the design is not to show itself but to expose what it contains.

In this way the counter, with its ideal, ethereal shape, it's oriented in a way to guide people, from its dark mass to the white island at the centre of the store, where colourful objects on display take the scene.
In a similar way, the central white product display plays with the refraction of the glass to create a mesmerizing view to the back-lit colour, celebrating the multifaceted beauty of the design products.

All these experiences, starting from the orientation of the counter, are subtly guided and directed by the light installation on the ceiling. In the same stark but carefully thought manner of the rest of the design, these simple lines guide and attract at the same time. They also show the key composition of the space in relation with its container and surroundings, based on a rotated axis which "catches" the exterior flow and invites it into the space.