
STAGING
Gerngross
Kaufhaus Gerngross Vienna (A)
Gerngross, a Viennese shopping mall rich in tradition, had gotten a bit worn around the edges and needed some renovations. The essential goals of this modernization project were to significantly improve customer orientation, transparency, openness, and the staging of retail space, as well as to create new lines of sight and to improve the building exterior by creating a nearly logo-free façade.

The layout of the store was not intuitive. Walkways were complex and confusing, and it was difficult to navigate. To improve this, the layout of the indoor levels (G, 1st, 2nd, and 5th) has been entirely re-designed and smaller retail spaces have been added.
The key to designing the individual levels was to think “empty”“ in order to enable the future implementation of an improved orientation system.
The preconditions for this complex undertaking were: For each rental space, a newer space of equal size but higher quality had to be provided: Each tenant had to be relocated twice during the construction time & the ongoing daily shopping activity should be only minimally disturbed.

To this end, the atrium, with its escalator network, took centre stage. The atrium serves as the nucleus and has become the store’s central orientation point. The atrium, which unites the horizontal and vertical visual axes, has becomes the store’s new nucleus and central orientation point. The ceilings of the individual levels are rounded and “rolled” upwards. In this way, the atrium expands up towards the retail levels, appearing larger and more open than the atrium in its previous incarnation. The atrium and retail areas seem to melt together, bringing the individual levels into a mutual dialogue and making the store into a special continuum.

The facade of the new building forms the logical continuation of the interior: the ice-floe theme of the interior space continues on the new facade. To this end, large-scale, amorphous colour fields were applied. Leaving some space in between, an ornamentally designed, semi-transparent white area was then attached. Together, these layers form a conglomerate of light and colour. In the evening, this effect is reinforced by a lighting concept between the two layers of the facade.
Due to the large scale of the facade, the entire building is harmonized, and the true size of the building is emphasised. Advertising media, such as logos and slide-in plates, have been aggregated and drastically reduced as compared to their former state.

„If the Viennese department store Gerngross were an old lady, you wouldn’t ask her age. It has stood on Mariahilferstraße in the 7th district of Vienna since 1879, but has been completely rebuilt several times over the years. Now it was our turn for a new „facelift“ and for a completely new shopping-wow!“

The Gerngross Facade
The ornamental pattern was designed to ensure a continuous view from the building into the street space (50% free cross-section). Furthermore, the entire facade was thermally reengineered and technically modernised, so the ornamental pattern functions simultaneously as sun protection.
Depending on where they stand, viewers perceive the facade differently: From a level viewing angle, it appears more like a white-ornamental field. As the viewing angle gets steeper, the background colour of the house comes more strongly into focus. This creates a tilting effect, which follows the passers-by.