DIDACTIC STORE

The project was to set up a classroom in the Institut Notre-Dame de Lourdes school in Laeken that could be used as an educational resource for commercial studies.  The objective was to create a real shop so that students could have practical experience during their retail display training and sales training courses.

The space within the existing room is structured by concrete beams.  The intention of the design was to highlight this structure by creating furniture suspended from the beams.

The furniture consists of wooden slats which are fixed to and suspended from the beams.  Shelves, removable rails and all the furniture can then be placed on these slats.

The entrance features wooden slats which are positioned closer together, marking a transition between the classroom and the rest of the school.

As this project was designed as an educational tool for students, it presented an interesting opportunity for the interior work to be done by other students, and thus a very rewarding collaboration came about with the Institut Saint-Joseph in Etterbeek.  Carpentry students produced all the furniture along with their teachers.