The store as media

About this collection

When the transaction moved into an interface, the physical point lost its monopoly on the deal and acquired a different task: to explain, to show material at close range, and to produce images. This route reads retail as a publishing channel.

The argument

• Why the store became media — selling became a by-product of publication.
• The Store — Commercial Space as a Visual System — the space of commerce as a visual system.

Typologies

• The Department Store — A City Inside a Building — a city inside a building.
• The Boutique — Architecture of Luxury — the architecture of luxury.
• The Concept Store — From Selling to Curating — from selling to curating.
• The Showroom — Between Sample and Sale — between sample and sale.
• The Shop Window — Product Theatre Between Street and Interior — product theatre between street and interior.

Cases

• Prada Epicenter: when the store became a research project — the store as published research.
• Olivetti Showroom / Carlo Scarpa — a retail point as an architectural work.
• Olivetti: the company as a total design project — store, factory, and town as one commission.
• MUJI: the absence of brand as a brand project — a store repeating the logic of the product.

The adjacent typology

• The Museum — Route, Display, and the Management of Attention — route, display, and the management of attention.
• The Exhibition — Temporary Architecture of an Argument — temporary architecture of argument.