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Adaptive reuse within the retail design discipline: exploring the concept of
authenticity

Conference Paper · January 2011

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Adaptive reuse within the retail design discipline:
exploring the concept of authenticity

BIE PLEVOETS
PHL University College & Hasselt University
KOENRAAD VAN CLEEMPOEL
PHL University College & Hasselt University

Introduction

Working with existing buildings, repairing and restoring them for


continued use has become a creative and fascinating task within
the architectural discipline. Today, conversions and upgrades
accounts for between 50 and 70 percent of all construction
works (Cramer and Breitling, 2007) and due to economical and
ecological imperatives, adaptive reuse has gained importance
ever since. This trend is also recognizable within the retail
design discipline (Mesher, 2010). As the commercial heart of
a European town often is the historic centre (English Historic
Towns Forum, 2008), the possibility for new constructions is
limited and as such, the buildings at hand for transformation
often are historically or architacturally significant buildings,
sometimes even protected as a monument. Moreover, locating
one’s store in a historic building has even become a tool for
differentiation, as competition in the contemporary market is
strong and retailers look for means to differentiate themselves
from competitors (Petermans and Van Cleempoel, 2009). As
consumers nowadays are looking for emotionally engaging
experiences that are authentic and original (Pine and Gilmore,
2007), being located in a historic building is such a possible
differentiation strategy (Kent, 2007). But integrating a retail
function in a historic building is not evident. Many different
parties are involved in the project who each have different
interests, sometimes even contrasting with each other. When
striving for qualitative retail-reuse projects which fulfills the
interests of all parties involved, developing a common vocabulary
between these different parties is inevitably. One of the concepts
that needs to be explored is authenticity.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the meaning of authenticity


for retail projects, located in historic buildings. The concept
of authenticity is complex and layered. It has been applied
and defined by several disciplines, however, its meaning is
understood differently between these disciplines. The first
section of this paper describes authenticity from three different
angles: heritage conservation, adaptive reuse and retail design.

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The second section investigates how authentic retail-reuse
projects are perceived in practice via two case studies.

The Concept of Authenticity: an Interdisciplinary Perspective

The word ‘authentic’ refers to the Greek authentikòs (autòs,


myself, the same) and the Latin auctor (an originator, authority),
and thus to original as opposed to copy, real as opposed to
pretended, genuine as opposed to counterfeit (Jokilehto, 1999).
Being authentic is having authority, being trustworthy, credible,
convincing, real, genuine or original (Webster, 1986). But the
adoption of the concept of authenticity is complex and layered.
It has been applied and defined by several disciplines, such as
philosophy, architecture, conservation, tourism and marketing.
In relation to the subject of this paper - retail projects located
in historic buildings - three disciplines are particularly relevant:
heritage conservation, adaptive reuse and retail design. In each
of these disciplines, authenticity has been used in a different
context and with a different perspective.

Authenticity in Heritage Conservation
The concept of authenticity was introduced by the Charter
of Venice (ICOMOS, 1964, article 9) but at that time its
meaning was only related to aesthetics and historic values.
After the introduction of the World Heritage Convention in
1972 (UNESCO, 1972), the broadening international context
of the conservation made that the existing approach towards
authenticity became inadequate. Hence, a more elaborate
concept of authenticity was formulated at the Nara Conference
on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage Convention
(Larsen, 1995). Today the concept of authenticity covers not
only the European notion of heritage but the entire global
society and its patterns and behavior, including aspects of
form and design, materials and substance, use and function,
traditions and techniques, location and setting, and spirit and
feeling (ICOMOS 1994, article 13). The Nara document
explains that conservation of cultural heritage is rooted in the
values attributed to the heritage, and these values are the basis
for assessing all aspects of authenticity (ICOMOS 1994, article
9). As Jokilehto explained:

to be authentic does not give a value per se; rather it should be understood as
the condition of an object or a monument in relation to its specific qualities.
[…] Authenticity cannot be added to the subject; it can be revealed only in so
far as it exists. Values are, instead, subject to cultural and educational processes,
and may change over time (Jokilehto, 1995).

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Where up to the 19th century conservation dealt mainly with
aesthetic and historic values, during the 20th century a more
rich variety of values are contributed to monuments. Alois
Riegl (1858-1905) distinguishes different types of values which
he generally grouped as commemorative values (including
age-value, historical value and intentional commemorative
value) as opposed to present-day values (including use-value,
art-value and newness-value). By including the use-value in
his assessment of monuments, he recognized reuse of historic
buildings as an intrinsic part of modern conservation. He points
to the innumerable monuments that are still in use or that have
received a new use in the course of history and says that “an
old building still in use must be maintained in such a condition
that it can accommodate people without endangering life or health.
[…] [as such] practical considerations allow age-value only in a few
exceptional cases.” (Riegl, 1982 [1903]). The importance of the
‘use value’ was recalled in 1964 by the Venice Charter saying that
“the conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use
of them for some socially useful purpose” (ICOMOS, 1964, article
5) and has been discussed and applied by practitioners and
theorists within the conservation discipline as a useful strategy
towards conservation of historic buildings (e.g. Douglas, 2006,
Powell, 1999, Cramer and Breitling, 2007, Scott, 2008).

Authenticity and Adaptive Reuse


Although heritage cannot be frozen and should be understood in
a dynamic context reflecting our contemporary understanding
of authenticity (Jokilehto, 1995), continuous development of a
historic building or site challenges its authenticity. This becomes
particularly apparent in historic towns where development of
commercial and other activities threatens the historic structure
(Jokilehto, 1985). But also in reusing one single building, there
exists a constant tension between contemporary interventions to
guarantee the building’s future use and preservation of the historic
structure. This is especially the case for buildings that cannot be
used anymore for the function they were initially designed for
and which have to be adapted to a completely different function.
Sometimes radical interventions to the building have to be made
to match the requirements of the program with the configuration
of the monument, and to integrate the former appearance of the
building with its new image (Robert, 1989). Therefore, when
introducing a new function in a historic building, awareness of
the values attributed to the building is essential in order not to
harm the authenticity of the place. The approach of the designer
of the new addition is a decisive factor herein.

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Brooker & Stone (2004) defined three strategies or approaches
that designers can apply when remodeling existing buildings:
intervention, insertion and installation:
1. Intervention means to activate the potential or repressed
meaning of the place through a process of uncovering,
clarification and interpretation. The nature of remodeling
is such that the old and new are completely intertwined and
cannot viably exist independently from each other.
2. Insertion means to establish an intense relationship between
the original building and its adaptation and yet allow the
character of each to exist in a strong independent manner.
3. Installation heightens the awareness of an existing building and
successfully combines the new and old without compromising
or interfering with each other. Installation can be used to make
a short sharp shocking statement in the form of a powerful
comment.
In the case of adaptive reuse, the new cannot exist without the
original. However, it is the strategy applied in designing the
new program that establishes the relationship between both;
the strategies can be used either to emphasize or suppress the
memory of the place (Brooker, 2009).

Authenticity in Retail Design


The lifespan of most retail interiors is said to be five years or less
(Douglas, 2006) which means that stores may be refurbished
at a much higher rate than other types of interiors. Although
a clear definition of authenticity in relation to retail design is
lacking, it seems very popular for retailers today to call their
offerings and stores ‘authentic’, whether appropriate or not, to
attract consumers. In their book ‘Authenticity: what consumers
really want’, Pine and Gilmore (2007) described different genres
of authenticity which are appealing to customers. According to
them, customers purchase on the basis of confirming to their
self-image; what they buy must reflect who they are and who
they aspire to be in relation to how they perceive the world. As
consumers increasingly see the world in terms of ‘true’ versus
‘fake’, authenticity becomes increasingly important for retailers.

One way of offering an authentic customer experience is by


locating a store in a historic building (Plevoets et al., 2010). This
method has been explored more in-depth within the marketing
discipline. Brown & Maclaren (2005) did an extensive
ethnographic study within the Powerscourt Townhouse Center,
a shopping centre located in a eighteenth-century residential
building. They found that after Powerscourt‘s management
moved into accentuating the economic aspects at the expense
of the cultural identity of the place, consumers felt betrayed; it

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seemed that giving in on the monumental authenticity of the
place undermined equally consumers’ valuation of authenticity.

Case studies

To explore the concept of authenticity in relation to retail design


in historic buildings, thwo case studies are selected: H&M
flagship store in Barcelona and bookshop Selexyz Dominicanen
in Maastricht. The selection of the cases was based on several
criteria. Firstly, they are examples of historic buildings that lost
their initial function and that are recently rehabilitated into a
store (maximum four years ago). Secondly, they are located in a
historic city in Europe with regionally important retail activity.
Thirdly, in each project the retail designer showed respect for the
historic authenticity of the host space. Fourthly, in each case
study we can recognize one of strategies defined Brooker and
Stone.

Data were collected through reviewing professional publications,


observing photographical material or on-site visits and
interviewing the designers. Next, the ‘authenticity’ of each
case is evaluated from three different perspectives: the heritage
perspective, the architectural perspective and the retail design
perspective. For evaluation of the heritage perspective we
made a value-assessment of the host-space (the monumental
building) and analysed how these values have or have not been
preserved by the contemporary project. (2) For evaluating the
architectural perspective, we described the relationship between
the host space and the new interventions by analyzing which
strategy towards reuse – insertion, intervention or installation
– is applied by the designer, and how this strategy contributed
towards preserving the authenticity the architecture. (3) For the
retail design perspective we see how the historic character of the
host space contributes to the store image and the (authentic)
customer experience offered in the store.

Case study 1: H&M flagship store, Barcelona


The flagship store of H&M in Barcelona is located in the former
head office of the company Catalana de Gas at the Portal de
l’Angel in Barcelona, now listed as a monument. The building
was constructed in 1908 by architect Domènech Estapà
(1858-1917) in a neo-classical style. In 2008, the building was
transformed into the H&M flagship store by Estudio Mariscal.
The luxurious character and the monumental dimensions of
the historic building were a unique setting for the architects to
deal with (Basulto, 2008). The result is a very fashionable and

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Fig 1. façade H&M flagship store flexible retail design which contrasts strongly with the classical
© ArchDaily architecture of the old building. The new design is conceived
Fig 2. standardized shelves as a second skin and as such, a new image for the building was
© ArchDaily created while at the same time respecting the original structure
Fig 3. former director offices
and features of the old building.
© ArchDaily
Fig 4. interior Selexyz Dominicanen
© Roos Aldershof
heritage perspective: Assessment of the authenticity of the host
space, seen from heritage-perspective, showed that the most
significant elements of the building were the façade and the
offices of the directors. In the restoration and rehabilitation
project, these elements have been carefully restored. Moreover,
the contemporary interventions here seemed to be more
sustainable than in other parts of the building; only a minimal
logo is attached to the façade and contrary to other parts of the
store, the furniture in the former offices is less standardized. In
one of the offices, no furniture is placed in front of the walls with
dado, instead only one piece of furniture is centrally placed for
presentation of clothes. This minimal intervention emphasizes
the historic character of the room and gives a more boutique-
like atmosphere to this part of the store.

architectural perspective: The strategy towards reuse applied in


the H&M flagship store is intervention; the glass and aluminum
structure of the central stare case seems to cut through the center
of the historic building and contrast between old and new is
applied on all aspects of the new design – material, color, form,
lighting and technique. But beside intervention, the strategy of
installation can also be recognized in the retail design of the
store; the ephemeral design and materials of the contemporary
interventions and the use of standardized gondolas give the
impression of the store as a statement which seems not to make
any compromises with the existing building.

retail design perspective: The relationship between the retail design


and the host space is marked by contrast. H&M dissociates
oneself from the historic building to strengthen its own image.
Instead of identifying oneself with the image of the host space
– being rich, bourgeois, timeless – H&M wants to dissociate
oneself of it by creating an image of being fashionable, trendy
and low-priced.

Case study 2: bookstore Selexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht


In 2006, Boekhandelgroep Nederland (BGN) opened a new
store in Maastricht, Selexyz Dominicanen. The bookstore
is located in the 13th century Gothic church of the former
Dominican convent. The church had secular uses already since
the French Revolution and most of these functions did not

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respect the historic and architectural qualities of the church
(Schutgens, 2006). SATIJNplus Architecten restored the casco
of the church but the retail design was made by Merkx+Girod
Architecten. One of the difficulties the designers had to deal
with was enlarging the commercially useful floor. The number
of square meters required by BGN was almost double than the
available floor area in the church. Therefore, a massive book
case of two floors high was placed asymmetrically in the church.
Another remarkable intervention is the lighting plan which not
only highlights the books on sale but also the church in itself. In
order to respect the historic interior as much as possible, most of
the lighting is integrated in the newly added volume.

heritage perspective: In Selexyz Dominicanen, all interventions


to the building were made explicitly reversible.By introducing
the two-floor-high book case, the typology of the church is not
only respected but even emphasized. Seen from the ground floor,
the scale of the building is stressed, while from the upper floors,
architectural details can be observed from close by. This exposure
of the architecture of the church is enhanced even more by the
lighting plan. In such a way, the authenticity of the historic
building is preserved and even stressed by the contemporary
project.

architectural perspective: Selexyz Dominicanen is an exemplary


case where insertion is used as an approach towards adaptive
reuse; the book case is ‘inserted’ in the church building and
contrasts with the host space in materiality and structurally;
the black colored steelwork of the new volume opposed to the
massive structure of the church in soft, yellowish marlstone.

retail design perspective: The contemporary interventions do not


merely respect, but also enhance the authenticity of the church
and as such add quality to the place. The retail design becomes
an intrinsic part of the monument but without aesthetically
becoming part of it.

Conclusion

This paper does not give a definition of authenticity, but it aims


to explain and illustrate the meaning of authenticity for retail-
reuse projects. When it comes to authenticity, conservators seem
primarily interested in the preservation of the significant heritage
values; architects and interior designers want to create an innovate
design that interacts with the host space in an interesting way;
and retailers are concerned with offering emotionally engaging

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experiences to customers, aiming to enhance store loyalty. The
case studies, however, show that it is possible to create projects
that are successful from each of these perspectives. Moreover,
the different approaches of authenticity did even enhance each
other. In H&M flagship store, the retailer looked deliberately
for a building which image is opposed to its own store image.
To render their store as authentic, the relationship developed
between the contemporary retail design and the historic building
is marked by contrast. In Selexyz Dominicanen, the qualities of
the original church building are enhanced by the introduction
of the large book case but aesthetically, the addition forms a
counterpoint with the historic building. Here, the authenticity
of the store is created by adding an independent volume that is
equivalent to the existing typology of the church.

References

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Acknowledgement
This research was funded by a PhD grant of the Institute for the
Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in
Flanders (IWT-Vlaanderen).

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