Emporium St Isabel: A Blend of Tradition and Innovation

David Guerra and Laura Rabe's Award-Winning Architectural Masterpiece

The designers sought to create a contemporary, technological architecture that also resonates with the local culture. The building's unique properties include a metal structure, glass and clay textured concrete panels, and wide gardens. The structure, located on a main road, has positively impacted the area, with locals even helping to maintain the gardens. The architecture and interior design project of the Santa Isabel Emporium has a wide range of complementary projects, from landscape to graphic identity, covering an area of over a thousand square meters.

The building's realization technology is equally impressive. It features a metal structure painted with automotive paint, clay textured concrete panels finishing, and large glass panels with aluminium golden coloured frames. The emporium also boasts a balcony with a bamboo ceiling, LED lamps in rails, gardens with fruiting trees, and walls covered with old metal fences and plant vases. The theme colours of the brand identity are bordeaux, golden, copper, and colonial blue.

With a total constructed area of 1,050m2, the emporium stands as a landmark in the area. Sustainability is a key feature of the design, with elements such as the metal structure, pre-fabricated ceiling and dry-wall panels, energy-saving LED illumination, great natural illumination, cross ventilation, and the use of hand-made bamboo items bought from local craftsmen. The design also incorporates wood and clay textured concrete.

The emporium is a multifunctional space, with different areas for various activities. The basement houses the stock, dressing room, and bread production area. The ground level features the bakery, patisserie, emporium and auxiliary kitchen. The first floor offers a breakfast, lunch and happy hour buffet, a pizzeria, and a special products market. The second floor houses the patisserie production, stock, staff resting area, and staff restrooms.

The project, executed in 2014 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, faced several challenges. The designers had to create a comfortable, functional and cozy atmosphere in a multifunctional commercial environment built on a metallic structure with ample usage of glass and an entirely new material developed solely for this project. The development of the clay-like concrete was a challenging process, but the result is a building that has a visible impact on the area and a symbiotic relationship with the neighborhood.

The Emporium St Isabel is a testament to the power of design to transform spaces and communities. It is a beacon of efficiency and social impact, a place where people from all around the town come to buy products and enjoy the scenery. This design, which won the Silver A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2017, is a shining example of the blend of tradition and innovation in architecture.