Functional Flexibility

architects M. Grković, Z. Pavković, S. Tadej
project Deisgner Clothes Store I'M, Zagreb, Croatia
written by Hrvoje Hrabak

 

In order to clarify the impression and the perception of the I’M designer clothing store I had to make two references to somewhat more universal topics than this particular micro-scale intervention at a location in downtown Zagreb.

 

On a larger scale, I’M fits in the now quite discernible ring around the pedestrian zone of Zagreb, where, for some years now, new stores have been springing up spontaneously, and are still there today. Their main added value is their originality and creativity, be it a cuisine, design, or any other service. The ring consisting of these self-seeding spots is also the most important urban transformation that has occurred in Zagreb ever since the early days of the conquest of the pedestrian zone. The gesture with which I’M presents itself to the street—making the decrepitude of the facade irrelevant—gives the ring an exceptional urban referentiality.