Product Type
Application Area
Lighting Effect
Product Type
Application Area
Lighting Effect

Colonys Shop

About Project


The Colonys store, specialising in footwear and accessories, opened in Zurich to offer a buying experience inspired by the colonial period. The inauguration of the Colonys store at the Sihlcity shopping centre in Zurich in April 2011 was a landmark event.

The Colonys brand belonging to “its Companys AG” offers a wide range of footwear and fashion accessories, ideal for business, leisure and active time use, aimed at both male and female customers. “When they step into our store, we’d like customers to feel enveloped in the wellbeing of an environment inspired by southern countries and the colonial period, so that for a moment they can forget the frenetic pace of everyday life”, said Ivo Tschümperlin, CEO of Companys. Retailpartners AG, a shop-fitting, interior architecture and interior design company, developed, working closely with Ivo Tschümperlin, a strong architecture and sophisticated lighting set-up which was implemented by iGuzzini. The aim was to make the Colonys style perceptible. The design drew inspiration from the atmosphere of colonial countries, where the hot rays of the sun penetrate shutter slats to light up dark interiors, creating an absolutely unique light and shade effect. The pleasantness of the setting comes thanks to the use of colonial furniture and high output LED lamps.

The store’s very muted basic lighting is from ceiling-recessed “Reflex Professional” luminaires with Fortimo LEDs. Since the lamps are operated at just 40% of capacity, visitors don’t even notice the ceiling lights. The ceiling is gently lit with backlit ornamental images using motifs which recur continually throughout the store. Contrasting with the muted ceiling light, the spotlights light up products on the wall shelves and display surfaces, placing just the right emphasis on them. Display furniture, such as the showcases and shelves, are lit using X26 lamps. At the back of the shop there is a lounge and the cash desks. While the rest of the store’s surface has warm, dark colours in keeping with the colonial style of southern nations, here light materials and white furniture dominate. In this area the background lighting is slightly paler. It comes from two Ledstrip rows arranged along the wall above the cash desk and the lounge. A mounting device hides the lamps from customers. They only see the light coming from a slit between the ceiling and the lateral walls, considerably enhancing the sense of depth of the premises.

The Colonys Shop interior, lit exclusively using LED lamps, can only be seen by those who go into the store. Slatted shutters in the shop windows and a strategically placed partition wall at the entrance prevent those outside from seeing in.

 

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  • Year:
    2014
  • Client:
    Companys AG
  • Designer:
    Retail partners
  • Concept/Architecture/Design:
    Ivo Tschümperlin / retailpartners
  • Lighting project:
    Wetzikon
  • Photos:
    Günter Laznia
  • Photographer:
    Günter Laznia

Products Used:

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