The result is a curious fusion of two very distinct typologies, where a once cellular arrangement of living rooms has now given way to a more open plan and lofty interior, and where the traditional positioning of the building right at the margin of the street with the projecting balcony overhead makes for a more humane scale and convenient retail experience.

The highlight of the adaptation of this building includes a newly inserted triple storey atrium along the once very dark and dingy northern edge of the building, now blessed with abundant sunshine and witness to everchanging shadows. The atrium also opens up the building and the retail experience sectionally, giving a fair glimpse of the upper retail floor from the ground, which would have otherwise been visually cut-off from the initial experience of the space.

A second highlight is the sweeping and angular roof profile inserted on top of the existing structure to create an ever changing and lofty spatial experience for the office space below while accommodating a spacious seating amphitheatre for public events, above. We believe the final product bears testimony to a strategic and visionary blending of past worlds with today’s reality