starch boutique by ghaith & jad suspends moving architectural elements

starch boutique by ghaith & jad suspends moving architectural elements
photo © basel abi hanna
all images courtesy of ghaith & jad

in collaboration with solidere, rabih kayrouz and tala hajjar founded ‘starch‘, is a non-profit organization that helps launch emerging lebanese creatives. every year, the group debuts a series of collections where young architects, artists, and designers can display their work and receive recognition from their peers and the public. based on the foundation’s ever-changing identity, ghaith & jad was selected to manipulate the ‘starch boutique’, representing different entities that start to invade a platform of possibilities. these current settlers seek to live within the space and begin to break from a frozen existence into a multitude of choreographed chapters, keeping the space alive and never dormant.

the approach features a spatial installation of 27 brass members that slide along each other and hook to 186 wall and ceiling-bound hooks. these components, on which the clothes are displayed, float over pedestals on a rough white floor, both made of casted plaster. with these contrasting elements of mass and outline comes a 1.1-meter spherical light source that moves along the back surface, held by two balancing concrete counterweights.

project descriptions are plastered on the walls
photo © basel abi hanna

the architects say that, ‘all these elements react within the limits of the store and become a family of inhabitants; a family that turns space into place, place into playground, and playground into starch. making starch this year not only a store, but also a spatial installation that communicates with this year’s designers, while creating a surreal atmosphere of a million identities.’

the color palette is a combination of brass and white
photo © basel abi hanna

the suspended components
photo © basel abi hanna

a table setting
photo © basel abi hanna

the construction also functions as clothes hangars
photo © basel abi hanna

view of the interior
photo © basel abi hanna 

looking towards the moving light
photo © basel abi hanna

detail of the joints
photo © basel abi hanna 

view from the exterior
photo © basel abi hanna

the different configurations
photo © basel abi hanna 

plan

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.