Mangrolia Chaussures

Visiondivision has designed three shoe stores for a shoe tycoon on the tropical Reunion Island.

We have made a design that could be easily recognizable and applied for all of the Mangrolia Chaussures stores. We decided to design one specific Mangrolia shoe box that can be multiplied and stacked into almost any form, allowing different store layouts but at the same time being easily recognizable as a Mangrolia Shoe store.
The shoe box can be made out of different materials depending on budget but in this proposal we made a shoe box in Plexiglas, a plastic that creates a nice transparent effect. The shoe box can however be made out of various materials, for example wood with a mirroring foil mounted on them, creating a similar optical effect but for a lesser price.
Each box has a lid and a light. The boxes are made as pieces of Lego that can be fixed together in different formations. The box can be mass manufactured thus making it precise and cheap.

Saint Denis – The ocean
The Saint-Denis shop is the biggest one and located in the largest city and it is also the only shop that the Mangrolia family owns, so we propose that it should be turned into a flagship store; making it the centerpiece for the Mangrolian empire.
Being the flagship store we also wanted to make it into the most spectacular one.
The upper floor has boxes in the floor formed as a river, which “flows” from both of the entrances to the stairs which leads to the basement level which is completely covered with boxes, almost as an ocean.
A sofa shaped as Reunion Island is set in the middle of the shoe ocean where one can try out the different models or watch a slideshow projected on the wall of the assortment that the store has to offer.
In some of the boxes, legendary shoes can be kept; for example sneakers from the 80s or fashionable shoes made famous through celebrities, creating a small museum that will attract more visitors and fame for the Mangrolia business as the collection grows.

Saint-André – The Library
This shop has shelves of shoes arranged into smaller rooms with different themes; casual, formal and sport for example.
The transparency of the plexi-boxes makes the shoes look like they are frozen into ice blocks and will create a very intriguing and inviting showcase for the customers.

Le Port – The loop
All the functions of the shop are integrated in to a loop; showcase for the shoes, cashier and seating to try out the shoes.
The loop is extruded where it needs to be high; the cashier and the main showcases and then sinks down to the floor where the entrances are, allowing a free flow of circulation.
The pillars piercing the walls are built in with new inner walls that are painted white, for a smooth and clean backdrop for the shoeboxes. This is something that is recommended for every store.

Helsingborg Library

This library is linked to a new station that will function as a centre for a new district that will be built in the coastal city of Helsingborg, Sweden.
Due to the strategic site, a blank space between two segregated areas, this building has to be something special.

The plan is quite simple; a big, shining craterlike excavation in the centre of the floor plan will be where most of the books are, stacked in transparent bookshelves.
From here you can also access to the visual media room where you can play video games, listen to lectures, look at exhibitions and so on.

Around the crater is also some bookshelves and such, but this area is mostly designated for listening to music, reading fast-food literature, comics, newspapers.

A mighty chunk of forest in the north of the building makes up a dramatic backdrop for the whole library. As you enter from the north, you have to pass this in a Hans and Gretel kind of way, a transformation to imagination.

Mesh pathways leaps out in this forest from the second floor and from the roof terrace.
Secluded spaces in the treetops where you can get lost in a book, maybe Moby Dick?
The pathways connect to the building on the other side of the road.
A gigantic botanic garden can be reached from here as well.
Cocoons of strengthen opaque rubber penetrates the roof to light up the interior, and to make interesting places on the roof to hang out.
When the weather and season permits, the whole roof functions as a outdoor cinema, or a concert scene.

If you enter the library from the south, the forest will be most present, but if you enter from the north, the cocoons and the white light will be the dominating factor.
A kind of high-tech vs. nature, tradition vs. exploration.