The Spanish footwear brand Camper commissioned the renowned Japanese architectural firm to design its retail space on Barcelona’s Plaça de Catalunya, and a thorough renovation was carried out which clearly gave the leading role to curved ceramic tiles, creating a warm, pleasing, inviting atmosphere.
 
There is a strong tile tradition in both Spain and Japan, although each country prepares the material in its own way. Whereas Japanese tiles have a glassy shiny finish, Mediterranean tiles keep the material as it naturally is, showing its real texture. Kengo Kuma & Associates wanted the individuality of each shoe style for sale to come forth by being displayed separately. Hence the decision to use a system of niches, and to this end tile seemed a perfect element to experiment with. With this traditional material the firm came up with terracotta pieces that were very elemental in shape but which, when repeated in space, yielded something highly complex. Covering walls but also forming shelves, a cash register counter, and benches for customers to try on shoes, tiles are practically the only presence in the stores.
 
In the words of the architects, “it is exciting to us to use such an old traditional material and find new ways to craft it, to shape it, to combine its units creating different architectural elements that can solve the needs of the contemporary life.”