ANA DIAS BATISTA

Copan Plan, 2002

collaboration with Rodrigo Matheus and Eurico Lopes

Projeto olho sp

Copan Building, Sao Paulo

 

The project comprehended three actions: an operative store at the commercial gallery of Copan, a fictional documental exhibition focusing on the building and its surrondings, at the foyer, and a running information counter positioned at the main entrance of the building.

The "48 Store" has two entries: one at the building's commercial gallery and another at its facade. On the store's ground floor we raised the floor, building foldable ramps which advanced outside, inviting the passers-by to cross the store and access the gallery. In doing so, they would come across plaques indicating the operative commercial sections: stationary, games, medical supplies and real estate consulting. Under each one of the plaques, there was a lit showcase built into the floor with samples of products. A fifth plaque, next to the staircase, indicated the functioning of the activities in the upper floor. There the four sections were organized – without compartments, separated by the discontinuity of the floor and wall coatings – displaying and selling their products under their own rules.

The stationary contained only printed forms displayed on boards hanging from the wall, some of which were old and out of use, being sold at a fixed price. In the game section, unique items of boards, chips and cards were disposed on a counter. When one of them was sold it wasn't replaced, so that the counter itself became a game board. The medical supplies were limited to disposable materials – rolls of cotton, bandages and rubber – and were stacked filling up the shelves of a surgical cabinet. The real estate consulting provided information on rental and purchase of apartments in Copan.