The warm up

The new store covers 900m?.
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“It was a really conscious choice to keep the palette very clean. The product in a pharmacy is so colourful and if you had too many colours going on it would just clash,” said Veldman. “So we’ve tried to keep it clean and let the product really stand out.”

Ensuring that the products were the centre of attention – and were presented in an efficient, uncluttered fashion – was a key priority in a store priding itself on the breadth of its product offering. This was one of the most technical aspects of the project and Bluehaus called on Visplay Shelving Systems for an effective display solution.  “We had to come up with a shelving system that worked for a host of different things. We opted for Visplay, which is a shelving system that Vitra makes.

“It’s a good option because you get to do lots of diverse things with it but it all fits into the same system. With such a big floor you don’t want ten different systems or ten different things going on,” Veldman explained.

This has provided Lubonski and her team with plenty of room – as well as a healthy dose of flexibility. “We’ve got plenty of display room, for promotions, or for highlighting products, or whatever we want to do. The way they have positioned the television also really attracts people’s attention,” she noted.

This is reflective of how the whole Super Care experience has become that little bit more interactive. “We’ve put screens in the pillars. They can be used to advertise products but also to provide information on health and so on. There are also touch screens where you can actually print off any information that you need,” said Veldman.

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Mighty lights

But the project’s piece de resistance, according to both Veldman and Lubonski, is the lighting. It was essential to draw attention to the products by lighting them effectively, but there was also the danger of over-lighting and impersonalising an already large space.

“Lighting is the signature element,” Veldman said. “The lighting was one of the biggest things for this project because products in a pharmacy obviously need to be well it but, again, we didn’t want to wash the whole shop in fluorescent light. So, we really spent a lot of time trying to get the lighting on the products and not so much in the rest of the space,” Veldman explained.

In response, Bluehaus designed large, suspended, fabric-enclosed light features that direct the light on to the product without overwhelming the rest of the shop. “They give off a lot of light but are not illuminating the whole place. They light up the pods and spread some light around but not as much as if you had fluorescent lights all over the show. We used Barisol, a stretch fabric. The contractor actually made the light and then stretched the fabric around it.

“We talked about putting different coloured lights in there so you could change the lighting colour. They wanted to go with white for the start but after that they can opt for blue lighting instead, for example.”

Having the lighting solution coming down from the ceilings enabled Bluehaus to overcome another spatial challenge: the height of the ceiling. “It’s a high ceiling, so we had to think about what we were doing up there and not just down here,” said Veldman.

Combined with recessed spotlights, recessed luminaires, and pendants from Ansorg Lighting, the overall lighting has been lauded by the client. “I think the lighting is fantastic and I like they way they have done it without a false ceiling,” said Lubonski.

The project was an important milestone for Super Care, and an undeniable success, she pointed out. “We want to be a one-stop shop and leader in the pharmacy and wellness industries, so this is a big store for us. And I see us continuing with this model and building on it,” Lubonski concluded.

SOURCES: Lighting
Supplier: Ansorg International

Ceiling Finishes
Product: Paint
Supplier: Jotun Paint

Product: Semi Solid Timber
Supplier: Nordic Homeworx

General Finishes
Product: Translucent Panel for reception/cash desk
Supplier: Modarress Trading

Product: Hanging Ceiling
Supplier: Barrisol Stretch

SOURCES: Furniture

Product: Visplay Shelving System
Supplier: Visplay International

SOURCES: Floor Finishes

Product: Ceramic Tiles
Supplier: Icingtone Europe

Product: Semi Solid Timber Flooring
Supplier: Nordic Homeworx

Product: Carpet Tile
Supplier: Milliken Carpet

Product: Ceramic Tile
Supplier: RAK Ceramics

Product: Pebble Wash
Supplier: BASF
 

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