The Caveman Shop, Portugal Building, Project, Photos, Retail Design, Portuguese Architecture, Images
The Caveman Shop in Ponte de Lima
Ponte de Lima Retail Interior, Portugal – design by Tiago do Vale Architects
24 Oct 2017
The Caveman Shop
Design: Tiago do Vale Architects
Location: Ponte de Lima, Portugal
The Caveman Shop

Having as a starting point a shoe store built in the late ?90s, this new commercial space?which targets a very specific (and demanding) market with a wide range of products?required a project designed to have great flexibility in the presentation of the products, generate a space with a strong, recognizable and repeatable image, while achieving it at a very low cost.

The pre-existent drywall false ceiling was demolished and the wallpaper on the walls removed. Lifting the degraded floating floors revealed a concrete subfloor in great condition. A concrete column was hidden behind four floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
Returning the space to its rawest characteristics exposed its strongest features: a rediscovered ceiling height and a phenomenal transparency to the street.

To achieve the store?s goals, the approach had to be very pragmatic, based on a simple gesture that could organize the space in its entirety and resourcing to cost-effective solutions that wouldn?t require expensive finishes or maintenance.

The resulting design is an ode to the value of the materials as they are: their frankness, their natural image and their intrinsic qualities.

The...