Deconstructing malls
The thematic center, which is scheduled to open in March 2006, gathers a whole range of household equipment and decoration stores under one roof. Rather than follow traditional shopping center layouts, Domoteka aims to create a shopping village as part of the Targówek Park Handlowy shopping center in the north-east of Warsaw, with standalone stores that customers can move between.
It is the first center of its kind in the region. Domoteka's total area is 24,000 sqm, of which 17,000 will be rented. Inside, 100 shops will be grouped according to different room functions, such as kitchen, dining room, living room, children's rooms, studio, bathroom and bedroom. Ideal House is an object located in the interior yard of Domoteka whose function is to present an assortment of items and ideas from the whole center which will change cyclically.
Visitors to Domoteka will be encouraged to move around it on a fixed route, with escalators at the entrance only going to the first floor and luring shoppers to the right.
Domoteka's developer is Inter IKEA Centre Polska SA and the building's architecture is in the hands of Broadway Malyan Polska Architekci i Projektanci and UsDesigners CO. "The interior of Domoteka has been designed especially for this project, and was described by one of the architects as 'deconstructive'," says Krystyna Włodarska, the project leader.
"The basic rule was to create an interior in which people will feel at home and comfortable. The energy and style stem from the style and arrangement of the interior," says Richard Brett, architect and interior designer at Domoteka, who took his inspiration for it from the views in Sweden.
The yard inside Domoteka will be arranged in the form of a village. Objects similar to standalone houses will be freely situated throughout, and will house galleries and stores. Interestingly, on the floor, these 'houses' will be suspended in holes cut in the floor slab. The architects hope that the interior will break the stereotype of the impersonal architecture of huge shopping centers.
The investor, Inter IKEA Centre Polska, decided to cooperate with brands operating in Poland. The developer will not only share the space and Domoteka brand with other stores, but tenants will also benefit from the marketing concept of the thematic interiors. Firms taking space in Domoteka will be officially known in a few weeks' time, after contracts have been signed.
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It is the first center of its kind in the region. Domoteka's total area is 24,000 sqm, of which 17,000 will be rented. Inside, 100 shops will be grouped according to different room functions, such as kitchen, dining room, living room, children's rooms, studio, bathroom and bedroom. Ideal House is an object located in the interior yard of Domoteka whose function is to present an assortment of items and ideas from the whole center which will change cyclically.
Visitors to Domoteka will be encouraged to move around it on a fixed route, with escalators at the entrance only going to the first floor and luring shoppers to the right.
Domoteka's developer is Inter IKEA Centre Polska SA and the building's architecture is in the hands of Broadway Malyan Polska Architekci i Projektanci and UsDesigners CO. "The interior of Domoteka has been designed especially for this project, and was described by one of the architects as 'deconstructive'," says Krystyna Włodarska, the project leader.
"The basic rule was to create an interior in which people will feel at home and comfortable. The energy and style stem from the style and arrangement of the interior," says Richard Brett, architect and interior designer at Domoteka, who took his inspiration for it from the views in Sweden.
The yard inside Domoteka will be arranged in the form of a village. Objects similar to standalone houses will be freely situated throughout, and will house galleries and stores. Interestingly, on the floor, these 'houses' will be suspended in holes cut in the floor slab. The architects hope that the interior will break the stereotype of the impersonal architecture of huge shopping centers.
The investor, Inter IKEA Centre Polska, decided to cooperate with brands operating in Poland. The developer will not only share the space and Domoteka brand with other stores, but tenants will also benefit from the marketing concept of the thematic interiors. Firms taking space in Domoteka will be officially known in a few weeks' time, after contracts have been signed.
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