Profumo
Like the wind blows between the rocks and shapes their mass, the perfume penetrates the body and shapes its soul.
Profumo is a commercial concept born in the heart of Chiaia, the luxury district of Naples. The store is divided into two levels that offer different experiences: the perfume boutique on the street level and a room dedicated to the "parfume cocktail" in the basement, outlining an unprecedented experiential path that unifies smell and taste.
Designing a perfume boutique inevitably means dealing with the millenary Middle Eastern tradition of preparing oils, essences and perfumes. The comparison with oriental culture translates into a space that brings back the material, shapes and colors.
These elements have constituted an expressive vocabulary for drawing an essential and evocative space, which involves sight and smell in a synaesthetic relationship.
The space dedicated to display and sale is shaped by curved surfaces as if they had been eroded by the wind, referring to the organicity of nature, which are translated into functional elements such as shelves, supports, openings, seats.
The materials used for the vertical surfaces come from a selection of clays and earths mixed to obtain exclusive chromatic and tactile qualities. Red and yellow plasters envelop the shapes giving the surfaces a materic aspect.
The horizontal surfaces are covered with brown travertine, a natural material that with its veins and shades, refer to the desert landscapes. Erratic stones in marble and travertine emerge from the floor taking on different functions such as display, container, cash desk.
The undulating pattern of soft white curtains, which crown the space at the top, makes the action of the wind visible, which shapes the material of the walls.
The room dedicated to the “parfume cocktail”, imagined as a rock cavity in the subsoil and characterized by a more static geometry, as opposed to the fluidity of the upper level, constitutes a discovery that concludes the experiential journey.
The architecture as imagined and created becomes a real urban oasis.