Architect firm XML has designed a bright white interior for a store that only sells water and vitamin drinks, set in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. The Amsterdam based studio XML was commissioned to come up with an interior for Whitestore, a pharmaceutical concept store that sells water and vitamin drinks to those who visit the city’s famous Red Light District. The result is an interior that is “saturated in white light”, placed in a narrow shop with low ceilings, nestled between the signs that emit the red lights of the sex shops, nightclubs and brothels of the area. “Since its an area well known for its nightlife, our client had the idea this store would be a nice remedy for all the drinking and partying going on there,” explained XML co-founders David Mulder and Max Cohen de Lara.

In line with the dispensing counters often found at chemists, the architects installed a bar that runs the entire length of the store. The counter is adorned with translucent sheets of polycarbonate and are lit from within by 28 tube lights, making the bar glow white. “Our challenge was to come up with a design that could attract people that pass by and yet communicate to be something completely different to its neighbours,” say the architects. The idea to install lighting within the countertop was a result of the low ceiling, as that meant traditional light fittings would create clutter. “Since the space is tiny, we proposed to focus on a single feature. The element also plays with the idea of a reception desk, familiar from pharmacies, but then pushed to an extreme,” the architects add.

Bottles of vitamin drinks and water are on display behind the counter on metal shelves with integrated LED lighting, giving the product a clinical blue glow against the white walls. The illusion of a greater space is provided thanks to a mirror at the end of the bar. Lab coat wearing staff dispense the medicinal-looking drinks to add to the overall feel of the store.