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U nder the concept of Circular Building, students of the Bachelor’s program in Interior
Architecture at the Hochschule für Technik in Stuttgart have redesigned a second-hand
store with a café in Ellwangen. The project motto was “Don’t throw anything away, don’t buy
anything new”. Therefore, the existing store furnishings were repurposed and complemented
with donated materials. The project was carried out in the university’s workshops and on-site
with the support of Tonis’ staff and several volunteers. In September 2021, the Interior Archi-
tecture programme at HfT Stuttgart was approached by Jana Schütte, director of KBS (Konrad-
Biesalski-Schule), to redesign Tonis Ladencafé, a second-hand store with a café, in Ellwangen.
KBS-AI is an inclusion company employing around 75 individuals with and without disabilities.
The company’s main goal is to support people with disabilities, providing them access to the
job market. Since 2017, KBS-AI has been operating Tonis Ladencafé with and for people with and
without disabilities. The store’s interiors, made up of donated and used furniture, needed impro-
vement to create more display space, accessible changing rooms and additional café seating. In
an on-site workshop in October 2021, students developed initial ideas for the redesign. Given
the company’s focus on inclusion rather than profit optimisation, the available budget was limi-
ted. Nonetheless, the project was successfully executed thanks to the active involvement of the
Tonis’ staff, fundraising, and volunteer assistance from local craftsmen. The project was finally
executed in the sixth semester of the Bachelor’s programme in Interior Construction at HfT Stutt-
gart. Organising a project involving 46 students within the framework of a semester schedule,
with a planning and renovation period of only six months, is achievable only when everyone Ablagen an den Kabinen nehmen Ware auf. • Shelves at the changing rooms present goods.
involved is willing to go above and beyond the required level of commitment.
Circular building: Building materials determine the design process

The focus was on using existing or used furniture and building materials. In contrast to con-
ventional design and construction, circular construction requires the building materials at the
beginning of the design and planning process, because these decisively determine the design.
The students worked in different teams, including project management, public relations, design,
model-making, graphics, lighting and material sourcing. The project management team esta-
blished a schedule and budget, coordinating regular meetings for progress updates. The PR team
garnered material and monetary donations via local media, raising 7,000 euros and donated
shop fittings. The material sourcing team collaborated with workshops to gather residual mate-
rials. The design team surveyed the needs of employees and customers and reorganised the
individual store areas, considering product displays, facilities, and aesthetics. A new lighting
concept was developed with the help of Sabine Wiesend, a lighting design lecturer, and fourth
semester students. The challenge lay in creating a coherent design from existing furnishings Projektbesprechung an der HfT Stuttgart • Project meeting at the HfT Stuttgart
and collected materials. The store’s previous setup comprised diverse elements, such as white-
coated IKEA shelves, display tables, clothing racks, and used furniture, combined with suspen-
ded square ceiling panels and a wood-look vinyl flooring. The redesign incorporated donated
materials, adding green and white metal grids, wooden display tables, untreated steel shelves,
and wood offcuts and pipes in different colours and sizes.

The concept: new CI, colours and logo

The green and white grids from the closed Schwab sports outfitters in Ellwangen became defi-
ning spatial elements, with green as the basis for the colour and material concept and the new
corporate identity. Light shades of lilac and various greys were added. Donated and existing
furniture was transformed to meet functional needs and then painted in CI colours. The display
tables, a contribution from the Leffers department store in Oldenburg, were also enhanced.
Using leftover materials from carpentries, new barrier-free changing rooms were crafted, fea-
turing shelves for folded items on the outside. Even the previously troublesome white ceiling
grid has been transformed; it now resembles a Scrabble board with letters in green and lilac.
To match the new interior, the graphics team designed a new logo in green and lilac, which is
also used for business cards, menus, merchandising productss. Between semesters, a dedicated
group of five students, with the assistance of Tonis’ staff and local craftsmen, built the remai-
ning furniture and provided on-site support during the conversion. In September 2022, after
a three-week closure, Tonis reopened with much excitement. The new store has been a great
success. Never before have so many people dropped off and donated well-preserved items at
Tonis. The café is popular with young and old, people from all social classes, with and without
disabilities. Good news is that Tonis is already planning an expansion. In July 2023, the students
were honoured with the first prize in the aed neuland 2023 emerging talent competition, in the
Exhibition Design + Interior Design category, for their exceptional dedication that exceeded the
scope of a standard semester project. Grundriss • Floor plan

AIT 9.2023 • 121