Modern look for a historic building

 

The retail store of Külling Optik opticians has recently been redesigned to display their premium quality glasses over 1900 sq ft. The spacious store is located on the ground floor of an historic building, right in the center of St. Gallen. An innovative and unique design concept now awaits customers. They are welcomed by a minimalistic black reception counter which is placed in front of an elegant natural stone wall from Ceppo di Gré. The integrated glass element provides customers with a view into the workshop and the optician’s craft. It is part of a conscious decision by Külling to create a sense of openness, trust and transparency.

 

The store design is inspired by the rounded shape of glasses, which is evident in many of the building and interior design elements. Various cylinders with a metallic finish are used to exhibit the glasses on the opposite facing display walls. This creates the effect of a wall mosaic that dissolves towards the store window due to the arrangement of the tubular cylinders, which can be open or closed and vary in size, color and shape. This imparts a relief effect to the walls. The rear wall of the opticians has a delicate arrangement of segmented room-high bronze mirrors. The ceiling, with its individual lighting system, forms an important design element. Again, the rounded form is picked out and the relief style of the design continued. Separately dimmable VELA EVO lamps are used, which adds to the relief effect and artistically creates the setting for the interplay of higher and lower levels. A comfortable lounge area in the corner, with 1950s era furniture, provides a perfect finishing touch to the design of the opticians.