Rave-Review unfolded at Blasieholmen
Placed between the worlds of art and fashion this project showcases contemporary Swedish design in the forgotten goods shed at Blasieholmen in Stockholm. This proposal interprets ‘unfolding’ as a design strategy, creating a functional space by remaking and up-cycling. Reviving the goods shed into a retail space and studio for sustainable fashion brand Rave-Review, re-defining the luxury retail experience.
Transformation strategy
During my research, I came across architectural strategies for the reuse of historical buildings defined by Graeme Brooker and Sally Stone (2018), named intervention, insertion, and installation.
The three types of strategies are classified according to the degree of intimacy of the relationship between the old and the new. They are applied either to emphasize or suppress the memory of the place. These have worked as an inspiration and point of departure in my design process.
In the Ph.D. “Creating sustainable retail interiors through the Reuse of Historic Building” (2012) the authors Bie Plevoets and Koenraad Van Cleempoel, analyze these three architectural strategies. And to this, they add a fourth architectural strategy, named Confirmation as they believed these strategies did not cover the entire spectrum of retail stores located in historical buildings.
These strategies worked as an inspiration in my design process and a way to approach my transformation of the goods shed and insertion of the luxury retail brand Rave-Review. I have used a 1:50 model of the structure of the goods shed as well as two 1:20 section model of the building.
Be sustainable but make it fashion
“Remake and unfold” interprets the contemporary sustainable fashion scene in the old goods shed at Blasieholmen in Stockholm, responding to the history of trading and the local surroundings of art and fashion. The design proposes a transformable space for displaying the maker’s space and their products.
The proposal gives space for several functions, such as retail, production, storage, and office. The retail space can be seen as transformable as the interior is moveable to allow for adjustments allowing events, fashion shows, special exhibitions or other such needs. In order to facilitate these transformations, the proposal takes a minimalistic approach, stripping the interior to only its necessary components.
The industrial atmosphere of the goods shed stands in contrast to the high-end fashion brand Rave-Review, however they are connected through both the shed’s timber construction and proposed spatial interventions.
The concepts ”remake” and ”unfold(s)” have inspired the spatial strategy, and at various points throughtout the project remaking and unfolding can be interpreted.
This proposal re-opens the façade to create two new entrances and two new display windows and allows the placements of the changing rooms create a backdrop for the display windows. Other openings allow for natural light to enter the goods shed.
Upon entering the retail space, one is met with garments displayed on bespoke steel hangers, fixed to the shed’s original wooden structure. These hangers can be disassembled and re-assembled to create new arrangements, making the retail space flexible depending on the occasion. The steel elements of the hangers are joined to eachother with a connection detail inspired by the Rave-Review aesthetic. It interprets the buckle of the brand’s signature tartan fabric.
The display fittings and furniture are made using this same design language. Metal structures act as shells to be dressed with garments.
Lastly, the sewing studio is fitted with Translucsent glass towards the retail space beyond, allowing visitors to gain a sense of the craft involved in production of the high end pieces as makers are silhouetted against the glass. Inside the studio, shelves are fitted with textiles, introducing a sense of colour and pattern, mimicking the items being produced and promoting a sense of craftsmanship.
