Il salotto
When Sara Busiri Vici and Matteo Brizio came to gosplan office looking for someone who could design their clothes shop, they brought two requests: the brand had to be “il salotto” (italian for “the living room”) and the site had to be delivered within three months.
The boutique is situated in the historical centre of Genoa, at the ground floor of an ancient building. The main room has vaulted ceilings and large openings to the narrow streets of the medieval tissue, where the sun barely shines. The entrance is marked by a marble gate that dates from XV century and which probably was the main entrance to the whole building in the past.
The interior is characterized by the blue linoleum on the floor and the rough warm plaster on the walls. A belt of dove-grey tiles highlights the clothes and fashion accessories hung on the exhibitors.
Most of the forniture are made of iron reinforcing rods: mirrors, hangers, screens and also a chandelier. All of them are "site specific", made by bending the rough construction rods and painting them with white varnish.
The dressing rooms are defined by circular sliding curtains.
The counter is made of coloured MDF wood and has a ceramic tile pool as a display area for jewellery.
The shop is designed so that it can host small art exhibition.
In front of the entrance, the iron rods composition is a tribute to the jungle gym that Eric Armstrong put outside Craig Ellwood's Bel Air Case Study House.
