Tubitek, a mythic music store from the 80’s, in the city centre of Porto, more precisely in 31 D. João I Square, in the Modernist building Rialto, reopened 14 years after its closure.
The building Rialto, built between 1940 and 1944, is an important building in the city; therefore we tried to respect the building’s personality and its surroundings of this store. We presented a proposal for three distinct times/spaces:
1- the façade, original from the 40’s, was redesigned taking into account the building’s modelling and materials. In the upper part we used copper and stainless steel sheets as the basis of lettering and Tubitek’s identity, and we kept the original oak woodwork, properly restored.
2- the interior space is characterised by the longitudinal lines of the ceiling lights and by the hanging shelves which organise the different display areas (vinyl, cds, dvds and t-shirts), highlighting the depth and dimensions of the store. The store has an area of 40 square meters, which made imperative the challenge of studying the records’ display in order to make it possible for a considerable number of records, without compromising the circulation of people in the store. The store’s interior has an element of exception – a wall of beveled tiles typical from the city’s façades — which marks the area of proximity of the counter and at the same time is the background of a spiral staircase of access to a private storage area. This wall distinguishes itself as a visual pause from the carrousel of colours that the records create.
The steel spiral staircase seeks to conciliate architectural features of the city and the resolution of circulation in a confined space. They stand out from the green wall of tiles and take on the colour of the ground, lemon yellow, as if they sprouted from it. The interior is also punctuated by graphic elements of visual communication that ease practical situations and improve the space aesthetically.
3- For the retail window, as a transitional space between the outdoor and the indoor areas, we designed a multipurpose modular structure that can be adapted to different display proposals. The punching followed a study that led to the design of different measures of wooden pins that can effectively sustain records of different sizes and weight. The punching diameter was studied to include a relatively broad spectrum of cylindrical and prismatic materials. Thus, several objects of different materials can be used, such as metal tubes or rods, plastic, glass, acrylic or pressboard, as well as pencil or writing and drawing materials. The main purpose in the design of both shop windows lies in the responsiveness to display projects with aesthetic and communicative load enough to function both as an eye-catching space for the passerby and as a distinctive element. On that point we advocate that in each shop window should be implied a restrained and noticeable selection that strikes the passerby, leading more people to visit the store. In the shop windows that were organised for the space opening what stood out were the oblique yellow lines that were tensioned between the two orthogonal and convergent plans in a vanishing point for the most important area of display. The dynamic lines created by the set of wires allowed the passerby look to cross a group of many people eager to have a direct contact with records and the music that will come from them.
Tubitek reopened in the same place which we hope will become a new spot.
PT
project info:
client: CDV TUBITEK
architecture | graphic design: atelier marca roskopf
location: Porto, Portugal
project area: 40 sqm
general contractor: Merbau
locksmiths: JMPN Serralharia
photography: Atelier marca roskopf