Type
retail

Client
Arcadium, d.o.o.

Address/Site
BTC shopping centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Total floor area
2.260 m2

Storeys
basement + ground floor + 1

Structure
existing concrete construction

Cladding
structural glazing, printed glass

Architect
SADAR+VUGA (Jurij Sadar, Boštjan Vuga, Lidija Dragišič, Gorazd Mihelj)

Photos
Hisao Suzuki

The Dom/Müller BTC building is located in a reconstructed storage hall in the BTC commercial center. The Optical Wall of the store is the smooth even surface of both side facades that curve into two parts of a frontal façade adjacent to the highlighted main entrance to the store.

Its optical effect changes according to the angle and distance of the observer and as such attracts the eye to observe the wall. The Optical Wall’s effect is achieved by the ratio of three elements: the print on the glass panels.

The zone of air between the panels and the thermal isolation which also houses the lighting, and the strong orange colour of the isolation. The major factor of the Optical Wall’s effect is the white print on the panels that with its pattern simulates a curvature of the surface.

It seems that the façade is in a waving motion, even though it is a thoroughly even surface. When the sun shines against it, the effect is stronger because of the shade that the print casts on the isolation.

At night, the effect of the wall changes: the artificial lighting in the zone diminishes the depth of the Optical Wall and thus also the impression of the wall curving.