Glass, white fins and a freestanding core turn a furniture showroom in São Paulo into a stage. Casual Store is a new showroom that works as an exhibition floor and as an architectural object in its own right.
Studio mk27, the practice founded by Marcio Kogan and listed online at mk27.com, designed the building. The studio also created other Micasa buildings, including the retail space Volume C, completed in 2022.
Casual Store sits in the Micasa complex in the Jardim neighbourhood of São Paulo. From the outside, it reads as a simple box of three orthogonal floors, stacked one above another and wrapped in glazing. Inside this building, shading elements shield the interior from the hot sun.
Kogan worked on the architecture with Samanta Cafardo. Diana Radomysler and Pedro Ribeiro designed the interiors. Kogan has a long record with Wallpaper*, and he guest-edited the magazine’s October 2024 issue.
Retail spaces that double as galleries have a long pedigree, and a New York storefront shows how modular fittings can keep a room adaptable. Modular Shelving Reshapes New York’s Storefront Gallery shows how the same flexibility works at a smaller scale.
The facade is a double skin of glass and slim white shading fins. As visitors move through the building, the fins create a sense of motion. From a distance the volume looks closed. As a visitor gets closer, gaps in the facade reveal the interior and pull people inside.
Inside the casual store showroom
Once inside, the mood shifts. The interiors are light and calm, with neutral colours, mostly white, and clean surfaces. The architects describe this showroom design as a contemporary take on the white cube gallery, which keeps the focus on the furniture and products on display.
A single geometric order
The plan is not decorative. The team says the geometry serves the space’s daily operations and supports its shows and other activities.
The architects write: “A single geometric order governs the entire project: the Cartesian plan unfolds into the floor pattern, the orthogonal ceiling grid, the freestanding central volume, and the modulation of the façade.” They add that these elements repeat the same architectural idea at different scales, which gives the space coherence without limiting its flexibility.
At the centre of the floor plan stands a freestanding core. It holds circulation and the support spaces the showroom needs to run. Because the core takes these functions, the surrounding floor can be reconfigured to suit each display.
The idea of a store that treats its own structure as the main attraction returns in Tokyo. Tokyo Store Reworks Brutalist Concrete with Radiant Colour offers a useful contrast, since it keeps a heavy material and lets light and colour do the work.
That flexibility gives Casual Store the lightness of a pavilion rather than the weight of a fixed structure. Exhibitions, events and sales can share the same floor. The result blurs the line between retail and theatre, and the building becomes a place to watch as well as shop.
H/T wallpaper.com
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Casual Store showroom located in São Paulo?
Casual Store is located in the Micasa complex in the Jardim neighbourhood of São Paulo. It works as both an exhibition floor and an architectural object.
Who designed the Casual Store showroom building and its interiors?
Studio mk27, the practice founded by Marcio Kogan, designed the building, with Kogan working on the architecture alongside Samanta Cafardo. Diana Radomysler and Pedro Ribeiro designed the interiors.
What is the facade of the Casual Store showroom made of?
The facade is a double skin of glass and slim white shading fins. The fins create a sense of motion as visitors move through the building.
What does the freestanding central core do in Casual Store?
The freestanding core at the centre of the floor plan holds circulation and the support spaces the showroom needs to run. Because the core takes these functions, the surrounding floor can be reconfigured to suit each display.
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