Pusateri’s, the Toronto-based fine foods chain, recently hired Montreal-based GH+A Design to imprint their brand identity on their six retail spaces. The aim was to deliver a style as refined as their gourmet products. Ceragres and GH+A Design partnered to deliver a sophisticated floor covering solution that fully met Pusateri’s expectations.
Since 1963, Pusateri’s has offering gourmet, artisanal and imported products; setting the standard for what it means to live and eat well in Toronto. It now operates six fine food markets in the greater Toronto area, two of which are associated with renowned retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. More than a simple food market, Pusateri’s offer is as large as it can be; bakery, pizzeria, deli, butcher, seafood and cheese counters, coffee and juice bar; along with fruits, vegetables and many speciality products.
GH+A Design’s challenge was to project Pusateri’s powerful brand image, develop chic and elegant spaces, and also deliver an exceptional client experience. Ceragres’s contribution was to propose a tile collection that embodies this ethos: the White Experience. This range – which offers many different layout possibilities, hues, textures and formats – was chosen as the floor covering for all six food halls. The 200 by 1,200mm porcelain tiles where installed in a classic herringbone pattern that alternates two different natural stone-effect hues. This is both a timeless specification and one that is spot on with current design trends.
While image and visual appeal were important to the design, rational aspects were also vital when choosing the floor covering. Strict criteria had to be met to reflect the high anticipated traffic; including anti-slip performance, durability and security.
The White Experience range offered the ideal blend of aesthetics and functionality. These rectified tiles are precisely cut to allow such installations to be made with minimal 2mm joints; maximising the sense of space and visual continuity. Hundreds of shopping trolleys, and forklift trucks filled with food and other products, can now move around the stores on a completely flat and smooth surface.
Photo credit: Philip Castleton
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, August 2017.