RETAIL AND PRESENTATION

Dear Readers,

Welcome to 2024, which hopefully brings us many positive developments. We kicked off the series of traditional spring fairs with a visit to the imm cologne, taking a glimpse into the future of furniture design. A detailed report will follow in the upcoming AIT issue! Our subsequent selection of projects for the theme of this issue, Sales and Presentation, was also forward-looking. Like trend scouts, we sifted through a multitude of retail projects and trade fair booths worldwide to discern the direction the industry is heading. It’s incredible to see the fantastic shopping experiences created globally with great imagination, creativity, and courage. We have selected 15 projects that couldn’t be more diverse: bakeries, farm shops, concept stores, eyewear and stores, bookshops, and even a store where you can buy an electric vehicle while strolling around. The variety of examples is encouraging, especially as there are reports of department stores withdrawing from city centres, and concerns about ground-floor vacancies. Martina Velmeden, a graduate of Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, explored department store revitalisation in her master’s thesis “Post Shopping City”. Ideas are more in demand than ever when it comes to steering consumption sensibly, dealing with what we have and finding environmentally friendly alternatives. We feature some of these unusual and sustainable shopfitting solutions in our new “Ideas” section – let yourself be inspired! Architectural journalist
Janina Poesch describes how artificial intelligence will change spatial experiences in her article “Dimension Data”. The beginning of the year is a good time to think about holidays: Brasilia – the city designed by Oscar Niemeyer over 60 years ago – is worth a visit, not just for a weekend! And those who want to follow in the footsteps of Adolf Loos can stay in the recently renovated Villa Winternitz in Prague and then browse in antiquarian bookshops, perhaps making a lucky find like Dominik Reding did. The new year offers many opportunities – let’s seize them!

Best wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect