SPATIAL DESIGN II - TASK 1 RETAIL SHOP RESEARCH

Siti Zara Sophia Binti Mohammad Reeza (0359881)

Bachelor of Interactive Spatial Design (Honours)

Task 1 Retail Shop Research

INSTRUCTIONS

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S6P5cNzjR9H19Tp5JYKJpYaEu2cO57pm/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>

For our first ever Spatial Design 2 task, we were to conduct research on two retail stores, one locally that we could visit and one in an overseas location. Therefore, after wracking my brain (and the Internet) for store ideas, I finally settled on my choices:

1. BookXCess, Tropicana Garden Mall (now IOI Damansara Mall) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor
2. Casa Cavia in Buenos Aires, Argentina

BOOKXCESS

I chose BookXCess primarily because it was extremely nearby to my house and because every time I visited a BookXCess outlet, the spatial design and architectural prowess always wowed me. This was especially true in comparison with other large bookstore chains in Malaysia, which I have noticed primarily focus on displaying the books rather than comfort.

BookXCess on the other hand, had a completely different philosophy. Plenty of places to rest and recharge (even a cafe!), kid friendly areas and certainly a well thought out layout. So, I took a visit to the nearest outlet to me and walked through the store, experiencing and appreciating every little detail and design as seen in the video!

CASA CAVIA

Before partaking in this assignment, I had honestly no idea Casa Cavia even existed. I only came to knew about it because I had quite a lot of difficulty trying to decide my overseas store location. The location needed to have a comprehensive floorplan available online and of course, was interesting to me.

What drew me into Casa Cavia was the rich history behind the building. It started off as a gift from a husband to his wife way back in the day before Casa Cavia blossomed into a cultural heritage site, preserving bits of Buenos Aires' past while being modern enough to bring people together as a multipurpose centre today. It's a place that has almost everything from meeting rooms to restaurants and even a perfumery. It really sparked my interests, so I decided this was it and dug a little deeper into analysing each design choice, from the materials to the colours and how each seemingly minute aspect can help contribute to create a lasting impression and aura.

PRESENTATION SLIDES

Retail Shops Research by Zara Sophia

Overall, I learnt a lot from this assignment and discovered design aspects and choices that I continue to apply and take inspiration from all the way till the end of my final project. From colour psychology to material durability, this assignment truly helped build upon my existing knowledge as a designer in order to take my next designs to better heights.