Jofre Roca arquitectes designed Carner Perfumery in Barcelona aiming to create intense and emotional sensorial experiences while contextualising the Mediterranean and local crafts.

-text by the author

In the center of the city and the Eixample District, on the commercial axis of Paseo de Gracia, the new corporate headquarters of Carner Barcelona is designed. A local brand of exquisite, intense, and innovative perfumes in Barcelona. It is located in a building that preserves its original and typical construction elements of Catalan architecture. The sobriety and authenticity of the designed spaces allow the values and philosophy of the brand to emerge.

It is contextualized in the Mediterranean and local crafts.

Likewise, the resulting homogeneous white color makes the product stand out. The strategies are the focus on the search for a timeless project that links tradition with cosmopolitan contemporaneity, which tunes with the identity of the company. A showroom and storage area with office areas are planned. The spaces are diaphanous, establishing a visual and material continuity maintaining the necessary privacy according to the requirements.

Few materials have been used, combined with each other, and chosen to achieve a genuine proposal. They are of local origin and used in coherence with the project. Taking into account their characteristics, sensations to the touch, and behavior with natural light. Those with low environmental impact are prioritized, such as wood for furniture and flooring. Certified from forests managed appropriately and respectfully with the environment. Lime and breathable mineral paints regulate humidity, offering healthy and comfortable spaces. The lack of walls favors natural cross ventilation from the back patio to the street. The patio landscaping in plenty in a way that improves the quality and temperature of the air, the well-being of people and brings us closer to nature. All the brick and stone walls and solid brick roof vaults are white lime coated, stripping off any previous cladding. They remain visible, with their patinas, marks, and wounds that allow a historical reading. A unique finishing material in the enclosure is combined with flooring, doors, and furniture made of pinewood and white steel for carpentry.

For the exhibition spaces, the furniture has been designed in a way that serves both for exhibition and storage. It has careful lighting and a triple function of lighting for the packaging / corporate image, the different flasks on display, and the surrounding space. Slots to hide porcelain tasters were incorporated into the display shelf. The lighting in the premises, with low consumption and high efficiency, led system, has been designed in such a way that it is not present. In this way everything is well lit, emphasizing where appropriate to revalue the spaces and to display the product, which takes center stage in the exhibition area.

For all that, personalised spaces with a unique atmosphere are designed, in tune with the essential values of the brand.

Space is committed to authenticity, which allows introducing the experience of the product itself and the brand. It is an architectural design that allows intense and emotional sensorial experiences, such as opening a wooden cover of an elegant bottle of exquisite perfume.

Drawings

Facts & Credits
Project title  Carner Barcelona Perfumery
Typology  Renovation, retail, commercial
Location  Barcelona, Spain
Date  2020
Design  Jofre Roca arquitectes
Lead architect  Jofre Roca Calaf
Collaborators  Anna Villarroya, Monika Jokiel
Photography  Adrià Goula Sardá


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