The Speedo shop and museum in Victoria Centre, Nottingham

The first project in my final year at Nottingham Trent was to design a set of spaces for a chosen brand. I decided to create a museum and retail area for Speedo because of my interest in swimming and the Olympics. Speedo was created and developed as a brand manufacturing professional swimwear. Their innovation in fabrics providing comfort and ease of movement for the swimmers inspired me to develop this project around the concept of the water. The Falling Water House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Barcelona Pavillion by Mies van der Rohe were some of the researched buildings on which I based my composition decisions. The site is a free area with a fountain in Victoria shopping centre in Nottingham between the Boots, Next and John Lewis shops.

The structure has two levels. On the first floor is the museum. It is has an open structure so there is no fixed entrance or exit. There are many ways people can get in, out and around it. The purpose is to make it feel more open and free. In this way it serves as a passage to the shops at the back as well. There are exhibited the biggest achievements reached in swimming by athletes wearing the Speedo costumes. An attraction to the customers is the waterfall designed in the middle of the museum. On the second floor are the retail spaces which is due to security reasons. 

The use of stone and water in the design aim to give the spaces a more natural feeling. The glazed openings are created to give the customers glimpses at the main feature in the middle and the light slits at the bottom of the walls aim to guide the people to the waterfall. From the second level there are amazing views to the middle as well. 

The project was designed in five weeks.