Students design concept store

Students of the interior design master's program at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany received the Schwitzke Retail Design Award on Friday. All students focus on structural alterations for existing buildings in their studies and received the award from Klaus Schwitzke, owner of shopfitting specialist Schwitzke in Düsseldorf. Together with Norbert Zenner, professor at the faculty for building and design, the jury awarded the best student projects in the category Schwitzke Concept Store.

The students' assignment was to integrate a concept store in the head office in Düsseldorf - as a platform for young designers and creative heads who want to showcase their products with regional appeal, according to their motto "Made here". The students could pick an assortment of goods based on their choice of store concept - from fashion and jewelry to bags and accessories to furniture and home accessories and beauty and groceries. A small cafe was supposed to support the shopping experience.

The available area of 700 square meters extended from the basement via the ground floor up to the gallery. Apart from creative and aesthetic aspects, the students had to follow a holistic design approach. „Store design does not only require creativity and a sense for trends. Sketches and paper need to turn into three-dimensional brand personalities that work commercially as well,“ said Schwitzke.

The student projects provided a colourful mixture of ideas and visions. For the design and architectural firm from Düsseldorf, particularly the promotion of new talents took centre stage. They previously realised similar projects with the Peter Behrens School of Arts in Düsseldorf and furniture dealer Marina Home. The reason for this: the demand for qualified retail personnel is increasing steadily and well trained specialists are more sought after than ever.

The prize was a store check in the design metropolis London.

Photos: Schwitzke GmbH; sketch: Sarah Fecher, inside foyer

Written by Regina Henkel; translated by Simone Preuss