Brookwood Village, a boutique shopping centre

In the suburbs of Birmingham, the largest city in the US state of Alabama, the architecture practice TVS Design was commissioned to renovate and redevelop a shopping mall, transforming it into an innovative and hospitable space that blends in with the architecture of the comfortable residential neighbourhood in which it is located.
Architects Donna Childs, Mark Carter and Paula Carr Wideman, the coordinators of the team that oversaw the Brookwood Village project, described their design concept as follows: «Our retail design team reimagined and redeveloped this high-end shopping center into a boutique shopping and entertainment destination that connects with the lifestyle of its Mountain Brook and Homewood shoppers.»
Prior to the redevelopment, the shopping centre was dimly-lit, outdated in terms of materials and finishes and offered few social spaces for shoppers, making it dark and unwelcoming. «The new design concept created a casually sophisticated setting reminiscent of the homes that are found near the shopping center’s vicinity,» explain the architects. «In sharp contrast to its current more industrial and harder finishes, Brookwood Village’s updated interior showcases a soft, refined palette of neutral earth tones accented by an eclectic mix of furnishings and softer finishes to create a hospitality-flavored experience with all the comforts of home.»
With this in mind, the architects chose tiles from Ceramiche Caesar for the interior flooring, opting for solutions with technical characteristics suited to the intense daily foot traffic typical of a location of this kind. Specifically, they selected the Root collection, a wood-effect porcelain in a Nocciola (hazel) colour with exceptional resistance to wear, abrasion, staining and chemicals as well as excellent non-slip characteristics.
The collection was used in the common indoor spaces to create a warm, hospitable atmosphere. The Nocciola coloured tiles in a 30×120 cm size stand out for their wood texture and realistic graphic and nature-inspired details, giving the space a sense of sophistication, elegance and warmth.