designboom_marking their first completed project in brazil, studio dror has designed ‘casa florense’ for a high-end furniture designer in são paulo. covering four levels, the new flagship store for the florense brand intends to create an ‘oasis in the middle of the city’. by blurring the boundary between nature and the indoor environment, the design invites visitors to peruse the items on display while enjoying a setting filled with lush vegetation.

the project has been developed by dror to harmonize with florense‘s aspirations of sustainability. to illustrate this, the front of the building is defined by four large, steel ‘houseplants’, which are part sculpture, part garden. in addition to providing a striking feature at the entrance of casa florense, the ‘houseplants’ also aim to create a connection between nature and architecture.

to realize the concept of blending nature with architecture, the design by dror benshetrit of dror studio makes reference to a kitchen. as a place that brings people and natural ingredients together, casa florense is also designed to integrate vegetation, fruit trees and aromatic herbs. from this, the store is developed, not to look like a showroom, but to resemble a home with a warm and inviting environment.

‘nature includes us. it is not possible to see the world surrounding us excluding ourselves from it. understanding us humans as part of this nature teaches us to take a fresh look at our environment and also teaches us how to design’, says dror benshetrit.

without the concern of following trends in interior architecture, dror states that the concept for florense combines experience with experimentation. ‘experiences rooted in nature, providing people with a sense of belonging to their surroundings and to what they are experiencing. if we think about experimentation, kitchen is the most experimental part of our house and our lives. it is a place to create. involving this idea with what we did here reveals the way we look at this project’.

florense’s CEO, mateus corradi, also comments on the project designed by architect dror benshetrit. ‘his values are similar to the precepts defended by florense since its foundation. it is not only a store; it is a space intending to translate everything florense represents in the high decoration market’.