Interview • 01.07.2014
"Hospitality and relations are the first purposes of our concept"
Interview with Paolo Lucchetta, RetailDesign
One of the Retail Design Award winners in 2014 was the Coop.fi Novoli, which is located in a shopping centre in Florence. Architect Paolo Lucchetta has designed this trend-setting supermarket. In our interview, he talks about the architectural design, hospitality and energy efficiency as a cultural topic.
When visiting the prize winning Coop.fi Novoli, it feels a bit like shopping on an original Italian market. How did you put the lively flair into a 2,500-sqm supermarket?
Food markets are very familiar in the lifestyle of every Italian citizen. It’s a mix of colors, voices, relations, smells and tastes: this is the flair that every designer has the challenge to imagine or reply also in the contemporary and modern project.
What was the main architectural challenge of this project and how did you manage to meet it?
The main challenge was how to design a possible new approach to the project, keeping in mind that everyone loves the market, but also thinking of the young generations, the digital natives that love the urban community, the social innovation, using technologies in everyday life. In specific terms of architecture, the challenge was the narrow shape of the space, which usually is considered not adapt for retail stores due to difficulties in store planning. The intent was to take on this challenge and to turn the space into a unique one, using all the large windows on the road and on the piazza to create connections with the urban commuters that work, study and live in the area.
A further aspect, which makes a difference towards other supermarkets, is the welcoming lounge. What is the aim of this area?
Accessibility in architecture is very relevant in our design approach. Our intention is really designing for all without special signage but with smart solutions, for young and old, mother and children, for all kinds of people. Hospitality and relations are the first purposes of our concept design attitude. We really believe that people enjoy staying in such places and our design is deeply influenced by this issue.
Energy efficiency is another important feature of this market. Which role did energy saving solutions play in your creative work?
Energy efficiency is not a green washing behavior, is not a marketing value; in our opinion it’s something cultural that you have to share with everyone. Only a general and shared culture of thinking of the environment could save the planet. We believe that environment friendly ideas in retail can also include the customer in the process of increasing energy efficiency, starting from the help in opening and closing the frozen cabinets, to helping to reduce the quantity of packaging, to the information requirements about ethics and solidarity campaigns of the company profile.
How do customers react on the new design?
Very well, they enjoy and use the space in different ways during the days, and we are very happy to see different generations and targets to meet in a space that we love to call simply a contemporary market.
Natascha Mörs; iXtenso.com
channels: sustainability
