Hasta La Ideas

This small bookshop in Bratislava, Slovakia, has a climbing wooden floor that allows it to double up as an informal auditorium.

In the daytime these chunky wooden steps provide seats for anyone having a leaf through the books, while during events and talks they can be filled with rows of spectators.

Completed by Slovakian architects Martin Jančok of Plural and Aleš Šedivec of Totalstudio in 2010, the bookshop also contains a coffee shop at the floor’s peak.

A staircase here leads down to staff rooms and storage areas that are concealed below.

One of our most popular stories of all time features a bookshop inside a former church – see what you think here or see all our stories about bookshops here.

Here’s a little more text from the architects:

Bookshop and coffee bar.
2010, Bratislava, Slovakia

How can a small bookshop compete within a network of firmly established booksellers? What can it offer to customers? How can it draw attention?

Our aim was to create a flexible space that would not only sell books but would also be capable of facilitating various collateral events such as projections, readings, minor concerts, workshops, etc.

Two focal points of the bookshop are placed at both ends of the longitudinal space.

A checkout is next to the entrance and a coffee bar is on the opposite side on an original elevated gallery.

Both levels are connected with cascades which serve as an auditorium during collateral events and allow customers to sit, read, relax or communicate through regular opening hours.

Books are stored in long shelves along both sides of thebookshop. By this means a clear oragnization and a monumental effect is achieved. New titles and bestsellers are displayed at several mobile stands.

The permanent part of the program – storage, deposit, office and lavatory – are placed under the gallery and accessible via a staircase at the edge of the coffee bar and cascades.

Authors: Martin Jančok (Plural), Aleš Šedivec (Totalstudio)
Graphic design: Marcel Benčík
Client: Ladon, s.r.o.

Structural engineering: Geostat
Carpenter: Treeman
Total floor area: 170m²

Sugary treats are arranged like ingredients for potions inside this dimly lit patisserie in north Athens.

Greek firm Kois Associated Architects designed the shop, named Sweet Alchemy, for celebrity pastry chef Stelios Parliaros.

Some of the sweets and pastries on sale are contained inside neatly labelled jars, while others are divided up on large storage tables.

Sets of old-fashioned scales are positioned around the shop for weighing precise quantities.

In the shop window, more jars and containers are displayed within a floor-to-ceiling bronze shelving grid.

If you’re partial to pastries, you may want to check out the other patisseries we’ve featured, including a shop dedicated to macaroons.

Photography is by George Sfakianakis.

Here’s a little more text from Kois Associated Architects:

The project is the design of the new ‘Sweet Alchemy’ pastry shop in Athens Greece.
The store is located in the up market suburb of Kifisia in the northern region of Athens. The client is Stelios Parliaros who is considered to be the best Patisserie in Greece, author of many culinary books and host of a very popular patisserie show in Greek TV.

Alchemy a notion associated with darkness mystery and mysticism practiced in laboratories full of peculiar enigmatic devices, rare distils crystals and potions. These images were the starting point for the development of a central idea, the recreation of this atmosphere in a contemporary outtake.

The space is characterised by the high degree of transparency which was manipulated in order to diffuse the light and filter the optic penetration. The role of light was highly regarded and thoroughly studied since the beginning in order to create a unique solution for the particular location and user. Light and shadow change throughout the day giving the space a unique atmosphere every moment. Serenity is followed by tension and drama.

The punctured bronze skin of the main facades creates the impression of the chamber of treasures, of the golden cage which encloses the precious, the rare commodity, the sin of the pleasure of the forbidden fruit.

The philosophy behind the choice of materials was in tune with the philosophy of our client. Selection of the raw materials and no substitutes, Iron, bronze, copper and wood were selected for their natural characteristics and were only processed but not altered in order emulate an appearance.

Our purpose was not the stenographic representation of a mystic environment but the formulation of the spirit of the place, the ‘genius loci’, the atmosphere that will saturate the space and will transform it to a true place with its very own distinctive character.

The sense of mythical, the mysterious discovery and the transition to an other reality were the characteristics of the ‘Sweet Alchemy’ of Mr. Parliaros and those we wanted to transfuse to the new store.

Principal Architect: Kois Stelios
Design team: Patsiaouras nikos, Marielina Stavrou. Philipos Manolas
Construction: Korfiatis Kostas

London designers Sybarite have fitted out this boutique in Bengaluru, India, with a modular system of hourglass-shaped shelves

The walls and display units of multi-brand store Maison comprise clusters of the translucent fiberglass modules, which were inspired by the traditional geometric patterns of Indo-Islamic art and architecture.

The units are fixed into hidden sockets on the floor and can be reconfigured to include shelves, hooks and inset video screens.

Each one can be lit internally with different levels of light used to create subtle zones in the store.

The double-height glazed side wall of the shop is partially shaded by the modules like filigree screen.

Photographs are by Sam Mohan.

Here are some more details from Sybarite:

Inspiration for the design of this multi-brand boutique came from the way Indo-Islamic art and architecture use repetition of geometric forms to achieve intricate decorative patterns. Echoing the famous dome of the Taj Mahal and other landmarks of the Mughal period, a stylised hourglass form is repeated, building a texture and rhythm reminiscent of traditional patterns but made modern in its application, simplicity and materiality. A module based on this simple geometry is the building block from which all of the interior walls emerge, both an architectural feature in their own right as well as the primary means of display.

The modules can be configured in multiple ways: mirrored; inset with video screens; fitted with shelves or hooks; hinged with doors for storage; glazed as vitrines for jewellery and other more precious items. Moulded of translucent natural fibreglass, each unit is internally lit with dimmable, adjustable LED’s, allowing VM teams to adjust the intensity of light and easily create zones and themes within the store.

The hourglass shape is repeated in the clusters of freestanding display units, also in natural fibreglass. Fixed into hidden sockets at the intersection of large quartz floor tiles, discreet stainless steel garment rails are placed within a grid angled at 45 degrees from the perimeter walls. This arrangement permits complete flexibility in the positioning of the rails, allowing the customer’s journey through the space to be directed.

Like filigree screens, walls of translucent hourglass blocks flank the glazed, double-height area at the front of the store. Large Barrilux ceiling clouds cast diffuse light, creating a bright, airy space by day and putting the front signage in strong silhouette in the evening. In contrast with the minimalist glazed facade, the front door of curved fibreglass panels repeats the material and translucent finish of the display modules. Subtly applying the Maison identity to the building’s existing exterior, the hourglass motif is hinted at once again in the huge Amazonian lily pads floating in the pond at front and in the shape of the aluminium bridge which spans it. The front elevation is clad in wire mesh on which bougainvillea creepers will climb, softening the angles and creating a carpet of greenery to frame the interior.

Shop Area: 300 m²
Shop address: Vittall Mallaya Road, Bengaluru, India
Client: 23 Carat / Prestige Group, India (Sana Rezwan, Rezwan Razack, AM Shameem)
Architect: Sybarite, London, UK (Simon Mitchell, Torquil McIntosh)
Local Architect: RC Architecture, Bengaluru (Nandan Damle, Suraj Anchan)
Completed: October 2011

Spinning the wine bottle-shaped shutters in the windows of this Prague shop reveals a wall of wine racks inside.

Designed by Czeck studio Aulík Fišer Architekti, the Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop features an oak bar counter beside an adjacent dining area.

A framework of steel rods supports the wine bottles stacked against the rear wall, dimly lit by bare light bulbs suspended from the ceiling.

Food and drink on sale is chalked up on a wall-mounted blackboard, while an abstract landscape painting by artist Martina Chloupa hangs on the dining room wall.

Another wine shop we’ve featured in the past features shelves built from crates – read about it here.

Photography is by AI Photography.

The following text is from the architects:

Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop

When the client approached us with an offer to design this interior I asked myself a question whether I could at all accept such a task. Should we linger upon it though I do not understand the atmosphere of cool restaurants at all?

Disliking their shallow visuality, not understanding the purpose why they are furnished with objects from among the most up-to-date design series used as a means to become authentic – this is no singularity at all! I communicated these doubts including (in my opinion) poor examples in this sense to the client at our every first meeting.

We browsed through photographs of bars and small wine shops in France he brought me. As a source of inspiration, he said (though on the contrary to the thesis on modern restaurant). All of them spontaneously furnished rooms with the atmosphere given by the place and all those years their owners have been running them.

I objected that only life could do this. Of course – la vie en France, life in France. And that this cannot be designed because it would be like artificial flavouring of wine – and would you drink artificially flavoured wines?

I do not know now who of us used the term first, but it became the starting point of all our further reasoning – we agreed not to artificially flavour even the interior. It would contravene the character of natural wines they should sell in the wine shop.

You have to find your way to these wines ¬– only then you may fully enjoy them. And the same way we think about the interior of this way oriented restaurant – we put most of our effort to make our work invisible at first sight. Our interior should be a background allowing enjoy good wine and meal here and now.

It is determined by materials related to viticulture processed by master craftsmen – oak wood for the floor and bar counter, and rebars (used in vineyards as poles supporting vine) for bottle shelves. The shelves disappear from view with the growing number of stores bottles and they transform in a wall of bottles.

Simple removal of disturbing modifications on the ground floor in the 19th century house showed the authentic quality of these areas. After the impersonally cool paints were removed from walls the house’s history appeared – remnants of original paints and plasters mingle with scars caused by building modifications.

Touching them, seeing their graphic quality is a unique experience. A painting called ´A Vineyard´ by Martina Chloupa complements all this.

The existing shop windows provide contact with the exterior that is important for a restaurant in the city centre. However, we designed revolving screens resembling the means of storing wine bottles in boxes for evening wine tasting or private events. They allow the shop windows closed completely.

A visitor then finds himself in a sort of a wine cellar, separated from the reality of the surrounding city. This moment is also emphasised by indirect lighting and dimmed bare light bulbs – the only visible light fixtures. The shop window does not become blind this way, but transforms in a large restaurant’s logo.

Architects: Jakub Fišer, Petra Skalická – Aulík Fišer architekti
Investor: K4wines s.r.o.
Address: U Dobřenských 1, Praha 1
Project and build: 2010

Our interview with Garrett Colton on the new Guest Buyer Series

Nestled among the nail salons, kosher bakeries and breakfast joints on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, Garrett Colton has set up St&ndard Goods, a general store for shoppers who love high-quality goods with clean design. Step inside the small shop and the eye is immediately drawn to Colton’s favorite paintings of two brothers clad in suit and tie. Colton found these paintings, dated 1960, at an Oklahoma City garage sale. Though he has had many offers, these dapper and slightly creepy gents set the tone for the shop and are not for sale.

Offerings include Sierra Designs parkas, vintage belts, MAKR wallets and iPad cases, West Sweet Preserves, Tourne ceramic vessels, skateboard decks and much more. A shelf of items features picks from the St&ndard Goods’ inaugural Guest Buyer Series, which kicks off with pieces picked by photographer Brian Ferry, from a vintage L.L. Bean shirt to a Minot 35 GT Analog Camera. We asked Colton to tell us about his new store, the St&ndard Goods Guest Buyer Series and upcoming collaborations.

What are three words that would best describe St&ndard Goods?

Timeless, basic, clean.

How did spelling standard with an ampersand come about?

My friend Carlos Morera works at Commune Design here in LA and is one of the most creative people I have ever met. I asked him to come up with some logos and what not for the store. When he added the “&” I knew it was right.

How did the idea for the Guest Buyer Series come about?

This idea is somewhat of a hybrid of a couple things. I really loved the idea of the Selby and going into various creative people’s homes, but I also liked the idea of GQ’s 10 Essentials with designers. The Guest Buyer Series is something kind of in the middle. When I worked at Band of Outsiders, I would sometimes go the flea market with my boss to pick out stuff for his home. The consumer in me would think, what if ______ was here shopping. What would he/she buy?

When did you first meet Brian Ferry? How did he approach his set of items?

I first met Brian in late December in New York. He found some things during his time in London and he also found some things in New York. I wanted him to pick out things that he gravitated to and I think Brian has great style and taste and didn’t need to guide him on what to buy. It’s really about letting the guest buyer pick out what they want. It’s not me pointing, “Hey, buy this.” Brian picked out things that he would really buy. He sent me an email hesitating on sending me this stuff because he wanted to keep it. That’s when I knew that he picked out great stuff.

Brian Ferry is including a photograph of the item with the purchase. Bonus art with purchase seems like an idea that should happen more often. Thoughts?

Brian came up with this idea so I can’t take full credit, but I loved it and knew it was a brilliant idea. Brian has a loyal following and we wanted to give those who buy one of his pick’s a special something. The fun thing about the Guest Buyer Series is really making each one unique. With Brian’s photography, we wanted to do something extra. The one thing I have really enjoyed the most about the GBS is that we are really telling a story. Christine Brown directs, edits, and produces the video, which interviews the guest buyer. We show pictures and footage of the buyer, the products, why they bought each item. Whenever I buy something, I always like to hear a good story behind an item, if there is one.

What other projects and collaborations are coming up at St&ndard Goods?

We’ve got some great things in the works. I’m currently making some more things with some really talented people. We are doing a collaboration with RTH that I am really excited about. That will hit both of our shops in mid February. We have some more great people lined up for the guest buyer series. Lastly, a show with Brian Ferry at our shop that will happen in late spring.

Standard Goods

7151 Beverly Boulevard


Los Angeles, CA 90036