Project Description
The Brand Shop is located in the heart of historic As-Salt city, right at the corner of the prominent Abu Jaber Museum. It is the main outlet for Salti producers to showcase their products and crafts, and is managed by the Salt Development Corporation. While working at the USAID Siyaha (Tourism) project, Architect Zaid Masannat was asked to redesign the interior and display units of the store.
“My primary concerns were two fold: to highlight the beauty and authenticity of the place, and to optimize the lighting and display of the products” says Zaid. “The existing showcases were bulky, too dark and the shelves were too deep. The merchandise looked dead deep in there.”
The interior called for a new layout, new showcases detailed design as well as a lighting concept design. “The new design kept the shelves airy, light, with extra hidden LED shelf lights that really brought the products to life.” A couple of old showcases were upcycled to display local artists paintings, while a variety of new showcase types were designed to fit the different types of products. The cabinets were designed carefully to maximise usability, flexibility, were simple and modular in nature to keep the cost minimal.
“It was all about playing a balancing act with lighting design: I wanted to balance the strong incoming sunlight from the main door vs. the deep dark interior; the huge height of the ceiling cross vault (which I wanted highlighted as well); the rough texture of the wall behind the shelves which was highlighted through a specially designed linear hidden wall-washing light detail; all the while keeping the merchandise itself the center of attention. We succeeded in balancing all lighting elements while giving a life and spirit to this beautiful crafts shop.”