Polished terrazzo fixtures and mirrored surfaces offset the exposed pipework and crumbling walls inside this minimal florist in Kiev designed by Rina Lovko Studio. Located in a Soviet-era warehouse on the left bank of the Dneiper river that runs through the Ukrainian capital, the 300-square-metre Dicentra store was previously used as a workshop. Locally based Rina Lovko Studio was tasked with transforming it into a retail space for the wholesale flower supplier on a tight budget. The linear space now includes a reception area, a workbench for florists, utility rooms with a kitchen and a shared toilet for guests and staff. Textured walls and floors that run throughout have been made to appear unfinished. The original asphalt floor was covered with concrete, while white and green paint was stripped from the walls along with the plaster. They were finished with a glazed coating. “The idea was to make everything look untouched,” said the studio, “as if we had come, put down furniture and the store started working.” Simple LED tube lights illuminate the space, their wires visible and stored in cable trays. A private office for managers takes the form of a mirror-clad cube that sits at the far end of the room, its sides not quite reaching the walls to make the surrounding space appear larger and even longer. Bespoke stainless-steel workstations dotted across the office are lined with grey terrazzo and finished with corners cut at 45 degrees. “We previously developed a table for the Dicentra store in Lviv,” explained the studio. “It was made to the same design, but in different materials.” “Above the table is a lamp with a diffuser for comfortable work and on the other side a mirror so that florists, in the process of working, can see bouquets from the side,” said […]
Rina Lovko Studio creates austere interiors for Kiev’s Dicentra flower shop
