Multicolour tiles form graphic stripes across the exterior of this showroom in Miami, which Esrawe Studio has designed in collaboration with art collective Superflex.
The showroom belongs to natural stone company Grupo Arca and is located in Wynwood, a former industrial district of Miami where scores of converted warehouses are now covered with vivid murals by some of the world’s leading street artists.
When Mexico City-based Esrawe Studio was asked to design the showroom, it was keen for the building to fit in with its neighbours and feature some sort of artwork on its facade – but it needed to have more of a sense of permanence than graffiti.
The studio’s founder Héctor Esrawe therefore approached Danish art collective Superflex to jointly create a large-scale ceramic work for the showroom’s exterior.
Titled Like a Force of Nature, the resulting work comprises red, pink, yellow, green, blue, purple and mint-hued tiled stripes.
Two different styles of tile were used – one flat, the other a three-dimensional pyramid shape – to give the facade depth and texture.
The colour palette of the tiles was loosely inspired by banknotes from different global currencies, while their arrangement was informed by the Fibonacci sequence – a series of numbers that frequently appears in elements of nature.
“Like A Force Of Nature evokes the illusion that money is as natural as a volcano or tsunami,” explained Superflex.
“It explores the disorientation produced by both the intricacy of the natural world and the dizzying economic systems that are rapidly altering that world.”
Inside the showroom, the studio has veered away from bright colours and instead fashioned neutral spaces that allow Grupo Arca’s products to take centre stage.
The ground floor reception area is anchored by a grey stone service desk, which backs onto an L-shaped timber partition denoting the company’s logo.
Visitors then walk through to a lofty gallery-style area where slabs of marble are displayed inside huge black metal frames. Should any marble be selected for purchase, staff can operate an indoor crane to retrieve it.
Upstairs are display areas dedicated to wood, porcelain and other materials that Grupo Arca offers.
There is also a bathroom clad in veiny black and white marble, as well as space for staff to sit and chat with architects, designers and other prospective clients.
This is not the first time that Esrawe Studio has worked with Grupo Arca. Back in 2019 the studio created a showroom for the brand in Guadalajara, Mexico, which is made up of monolithic blocks of stone.
The Miami showroom was shortlisted in the large retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards, along with five other projects including the Dengo chocolate store in Brazil.
The winner in this category was announced as Box, a brightly-hued collection point in Helsinki where people can retrieve their online shopping orders.
Photography is by César Béjar Studio.
Project credits:
Architecture, interior design and furniture: Esrawe Studio
Creative direction: Héctor Esrawe
Design Team: Brenda Vázquez, Antonio Chávez
Renders: Yair Ugarte, Emanuel Miramontes
Facade artwork: Superflex, commissioned by Arca in collaboration with Héctor Esrawe
Landscaping: GSLA Design
Intelligent construction: Luz+Form
Local architect: Beilinson Gomez Architects
