Papelote Stationery Shop - A1 Architects

Added : 03 Mar 2011 | Visits : 2463 | Average votes : %

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Papelote, a new concept store of handmade stationery designed by A1 Architects in Prague, Czech Republic.

Papelote Stationery Shop is a new concept store of exclusive handmade paper. The first Papelote store opened in Prague, Czech Republic in June 2010. A1 Architects were commissioned to design the new store in spring of 2010 by the founders of Papelote; Katerina Sachova, Denisa Havrdova and Filip Sach. The design brief was to define an original and creative interior to market their recycled handmade paper oriented design.

The owners chose an old linear house with two rooms connected by a central courtyard as the site. It was decided to retain the history of the old house by exposing colorful layers of plaster by scraping the walls. The carpet on the floor was discarded and the beautiful oak parquet floor underneath was restored to its original grandeur. The design evolved from the plan of the old house. As the space is naturally divided onto two parts by the central courtyard, it was decided to retain the room with the windows facing the street as the main shop and convert the other room that opened into the courtyard as the workshop.

Material being the main subject for all Papolete products, the same philosophy is incorporated in the design of the store. The owner along with the designers wanted the interior of the store to reflect the recycling beliefs of Papelote.

The room facing the street is used as the main store. The high vaulted ceiling of the store is decorated by using original wrapping paper of Papelote using cartoon motifs. The main entrance of the store has custom designed plywood boxes, which store various Papelote products. The two mobile tables in the store are also designed out of plywood and their mobility can change the layout of the store to host exhibitions. The decision to display the products as if on a notice board was a reflection of theme of the stationery shop as a reminder of school times. Metal clips were used to hold the products on the notice board made of handmade paper. This is a creative way of displaying new products in the shop and also a very interactive module. The opposite wall is mounted with a blackboard, which also features as a second layer on the wall. It is mainly used for paper workshops held by the staff of Papelote and also for small children as a novel experience. All the recycled products of Papelote like papers, cartoon, pen cases etc are made out of felt which originate from natural materials. Hence a distinct attempt has been to retain every natural aspect of the old house like the plaster on the walls, parquet floor etc.

The main store has steps leading to the small central courtyard, which then opens out into another room that serves as a workshop. Fabrication of all paper products of Papelote is carried out in the workshop. The workshop also doubles up as storage for all materials and finished products. The manufacturing of some products like envelopes and writing pads can be seen directly in the store.