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A highlight on the boulevard Unter den Linden

Where once Daimler’s first automobile showroom made hearts beat faster, today NIVEA looks after the physical and emotional well-being of the customers who would like to enhance a shopping outing, a sightseeing tour or the lunch break with a portion of wellness. The Neo-Classical palace was constructed by the architects Alfred Klingenberg and Fritz Beyer as a ‘Mercedes Building’ in 1912. Today the building numbers 28-30 belongs to the group of buildings Kaiserhöfe in the heart of Berlin, directly on the boulevard Unter den Linden. Since April 2009, the Day Spa has been providing cosmetic care. This centre also integrates a café and a shop. After Hamburg and Dubai it is the third NIVEA building that permits a break from everyday routine. For Beiersdorf AG, the individual items selected make possible more closeness to the customer and more advisory intensity as compared with the classic distribution channels.

Shopping experience, coffee enjoyment and spontaneous relaxation

Schwitzke & Partner were responsible for the conception and the interior finishing work; the construction time was only three months. For the beauty care area, a mezzanine was inserted, something that does not pose any problems with room heights of 6 metres. The linking of this gallery to the salesroom and the preservation of the ceiling height were important factors of the architectural conception, besides the use of high-grade materials, a minimalistic shape language and the NIVEA colour scheme. The beauty sky presents itself over 520 square metres as generous, bright and pervaded with light. At such a location the lighting must be convincing in its function and design and bathe the entire setting in the appropriate light.

Glare-free beauty light with the feel-good factor

A special lighting solution was necessary for the coffered ceiling, which is under a protection order, in the entrance hall since it was meant to be seen in its full splendour. Gimbal -mounted tilting and turning Cardo luminaires integrated into the Vario system were suspended at a height of four metres – also in order to avoid losses of light. These lighting ducts are continued in the lower area of the gallery as a recessed variant. At the same time, the 70 W spotlights illuminate the range of NIVEA products in the salesroom.

In the beauty care area, particular attention was paid to a glare-free lighting situation. It was here that a decision was made in favour of the Lightstripe system in a combination of low-voltage halogen lamps and high-pressure metal halide lamps with a low wattage. The colour rendition is optimal for cosmetic needs, the skin shines and the warm light that is reminiscent of natural sunlight generates an inner feeling of well-being.

Sales-promoting and dynamic accents

As compared with the mezzanine kept in clear white and wood shades, the sales room with its assortment of merchandise appears lively and colourful. As sales-promoting accentuation lighting, brilliant HIT spotlights were used which, moreover, work with a very high energy efficiency. The play of light of the mobiles in the shop windows was staged with vertically installed Brick spotlights. They also illuminate from outside the four-metre high NIVEA advice sphere in whose interior professional skin and hair-type analyses are carried out. For the café, a cosy and pleasant lighting situation was conceived: point-focal super-spotlights with HIT lamps of low wattage create, by means of the play of light and shadow, a dynamic scenario and in addition the oversize back-lit lampshade provides soft, indirect light. The sun filters in the spotlights at the same time ensure a warm atmosphere.

What tipped the scales in favour of deciding on Ansorg? “Experience of details”, replies Juan Hildebrand from Schwitzke & Partner, “We wanted a partner with know-how. The products are good and flexible and provide the right price performance ratio. Moreover, the luminaires have an unobtrusive effect – that is in keeping with conceptions.