HAITI / PORT-AU-PRINCE

PRAKTI FLAGSHIP STORE

TERRANE was asked to design the flagship store of PRAKTI in Haiti. Besides displaying the range of Prakti’s fuel-efficient stoves,
the store will incorporate features like live-demonstrations of their uses, training rooms for the sales-women and a repair shop.
The shop will be a meeting point for the customers - mainly women - and at the same time the ideal place
for education in hygiene, nutrition and health.

 



The design looks to incorporate wood as an active element of the shop, not only as a finishing detail, but as an integrated component of both the function and the form. The use of wood is twofold: aesthetically, it creates a significant contrast with the conventional white finish of walls, bringing natural depth and texture while infusing the space with unrefined warmth. In terms of construction, wood gives the opportunity to reuse and recycle, a fundamental part of building where materials are scarce and expensive. A smart, efficient use of wood planks can be incorporated to building furniture, displays, ceilings and wall details, reducing costs of production while consciously demonstrating the value of environmental practices in architectural proposals.

    

SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS: PRAKTI flagship store will employ 3 full-time women to run the front shop, 2 workers for the repair shop, storage and to drive the van, 1 trainer and 3 women for cooking. The store is also suitable for training activities for up to ten women and big enough to host 20 clients at once. Facilities Due to its variety of functions, the store needs a multitude of spaces based on the three main operational lines: shop and repair, education and logistics. Each line could be indipendent or communicate with the others. The required spaces are:
1 shop/exhibition (50 m²), 1 courtyard partly covered (40) m², 2 training room/conference room (40 m²), 1 bureau admin (12) m², 
1 repair shop (24) m², 1 storage (50 m², 2 sanitaire (10 m²), 1 staff room (20 m²), 1 garage for van (20) m² 


–  –  –   B a c k g r o u n d   –  –  – 

Prakti Design is a social enterprise founded in 2008 in Pondicherry, India. It designs and disseminates fuel-efficient, clean-burning cook stoves to meet the needs of three billion of the world’s poorest people, who rely on biomass and inefficient, smoky stoves to cook their daily meals. Its product offerings include a variety of household stoves developed to address local requirements within its target markets, as well as institutional stoves for schools, hospitals, restaurants, and other large-kitchen applications.