The extensive restoration of the “Haus am Schottentor” impressed the jury: INTERSPAR’s flagship store in the heart of Vienna has been awarded the EuroShop RetailDesign Award in the category “Food”. Opened in 2021, the historic former bank building has been given a brilliant new look, with the rooms adapted perfectly to users’ requirements. Lighting for the supermarket is provided by a Zumtobel solution that combines state-of-the-art lighting systems with replicas of the original special pendant luminaires.

Dornbirn, Austria – Every year, a team of retail experts awards prizes for the best store concepts in the world. The winners have now been selected from 103 entries from 31 countries. The jury were looking for the perfect mix of store architecture, colours, materials, lighting and visual merchandising – the INTERSPAR am Schottentor impressed them on all counts.

Magnificently decorated rooms shine in a whole new light

The refurbishment of the former bank building took three years to plan and implement. In close consultation with the Austrian Federal Monuments Office, PEMA and INTERSPAR removed retrofitted fixtures, carefully repaired any damage and restored the building to its former glory. At the same time, interior designers Kulmus Bügelmayer GmbH and INTERSPAR product range managers adapted the rooms to the requirements of future users. The magnificently decorated, well-preserved rooms shine in a whole new light and the former banking hall now houses an upmarket INTERSPAR supermarket, lit with a state-of-the-art lighting concept by Zumtobel.

Christian Webersberger, Head of Shop Design and Shopfitting, INTERSPAR & Gastronomy, says: “INTERSPAR am Schottentor was a challenging project, as the building embodies the secrecy of a bank, which contradicts the openness of INTERSPAR. Through individual furnishings, the chosen materials and a new lighting concept, we were able to counter the opulence and mightiness of the architecture and space with the lightness of our product range, thus creating an arc of tension that makes shopping an experience. I am personally very pleased that these efforts have now been honoured with a RetailDesign Award.”

State-of-the-art luminaire range meets historical special pendant luminaires

The complex lighting solution is the work of lighting design studio Bartenbach GmbH – developed and designed in close collaboration with Zumtobel. In addition to high-quality, efficient standard LED luminaires, integrated LED fixtures were also used, in shelf compartments and service counters, for example. The banking hall’s original pendant luminaires, which have been faithfully and meticulously replicated as special luminaires and equipped with LED inner parts, are a particular highlight. The result is a coherent lighting concept that weaves together the historic and the contemporary and meets the individual lighting requirements of the listed building.

Perfect illumination whets the appetite for more

Thanks to the state-of-the-art LED technology of the Zumtobel luminaires, including VIVO II, SUPERSYSTEM integral collection, CARDAN evolution, DIAMO and SLOTLIGHT infinity, the project partners achieved a finely balanced lighting level and a light scene that is characteristic of INTERSPAR stores. From freshly caught fish from regional fisheries and freshly prepared pasta to fruit and vegetables from local farmers, the systems bathe the culinary delicacies in brilliant light – without disruptive reflected glare. All the colours and details of the food are shown to their best advantage, while a “brightness hierarchy” helps customers with orientation and spatial perception.

Daylight and artificial light harmoniously combined

Zumtobel’s lighting concept not only showcases the local supermarket’s unique products in the best light, attention is also paid to the architecture: the lighting specialists backlit the banking hall’s historic glass ceilings using TECTON, creating the impression of daylight streaming into the room. For the exterior lighting of the six-storey building, the lighting designers chose the Thorn CONTRAST 2 LED floodlights from the Zumtobel Group portfolio, which subtly trace the façade design of the striking urban building on Schottenring with warm, dimmed rays of light.