Westwing Ipanema

Superlimão designed the architectural design for Westwing's new physical stores in Rio de Janeiro, located in Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca. The concept that guided the redesign was based on the premise of using architecture to work with the omnichannel concept, providing a journey through the store that was as close as possible to the customer experience on the brand's website: easy to navigate, with quick reading of the environments and better visualization of the items that the customer wants to buy, with these items highlighted in the physical space. Inspired by a strategy of flexibility and modularity, as is the case with the assembly of theater stages, this concept was applied based on a 60x60 grid on the floor and ceiling that directs the sizes of the environments and displays. With this, the project achieves ease in assembling and disassembling rooms based on the needs of each store, meeting the display of different product mixes. The grid on the floor also has a practical and useful function for those who visit the store in search of inspiration: it helps the customer understand the dimensions of the environments set up in the store, allowing them to compare the proportion of the products on display with the space in their home. With this flexibility in mind, the display shelves were designed to accommodate any size of objects and are easy to handle. Those that hold the greatest variety of products were designed with a system of counterweights that facilitate the movement of the shelves, which can be positioned at any height and this function can be easily performed by just one employee. Also inspired by the concept of a theater, the lighting proposed for the products on display is made using pantographic reflectors that make the environments set up like a stage. The ceiling grid, made from a profiled mesh, makes it possible to position the lighting at any point in the store or even support other elements such as separating screens, visual communication or a product, thus achieving greater flexibility in the layout. With the products as the main elements, the architecture was based on the premise of using more neutral tones in most of the store, applying stronger colors only in prominent areas. The choice was made for white metalwork, solid mauve wood, gray granulated flooring, exposed concrete and a natural metal grid. The new Westwing stores also have computers and tablets that allow consumers to expand their in-store experience to the virtual world and vice versa, connecting and complementing the two dimensions. New stores: Westwing Ipanema - Located in one of the most iconic neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, facing Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz, the project's concept is to propose a visual interaction between the store and the outside area and vice versa. As a result, the proposed facade has elements that attract the attention of those passing by on the street or in the square during the day and at night, inviting customers to come in. Another point that reinforces this concept is the landscape formed by the treetops, which can be seen from all floors of the store, complementing the ambiance of the products on display. Since the store is divided into different floors, the main difficulty was communicating to the customer at the beginning of their journey all the products that can be found in the store. To this end, installations were used on the 12m high ceiling, which help tell the brand's story and display a good part of the brand's product range. ----------