Case

bestseller

rømerhus

Aarhus, Denmark

YEAR: 2016
SERVICE: Conceptdesign, product development,
inventory, buildup construction, shoplifting…

Case

BESTSELLER
RØMERHUS

Aarhus, Denmark

TWO WORLDS MEET

In Aarhus, two worlds meet in the modern Rømerhus. The exterior is kept in its classic style. Inside it houses a state-of-the-art multi-brand fashion house. We have made our special mark on this project – and it’s in many ways unique.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FASHION

Soft pop streams out of the speakers as you ooze around the clothes racks. You evaluate qualities and colours while you decide: Is it going to be the rose or the light grey blouse you bring home today?

You are in BESTSELLER‘s largest store in the over 100-year-old Rømerhus on the pedestrian street in Aarhus. Here, you can enjoy 1,300 square meters of clothing and lifestyle products for both men and women.

COMPLETE EXPERIENCE FROM FLOOR TO CEILING

Below your feet are soft Dinesen planks on parts of the floor, in contrast to the large pentagonal granite tiles with an even rough surface elsewhere in the house. And above your head is a ceiling, where all installations are set up with the greatest accuracy and painted uniformly in black.

If you look up at the ceiling of the second floor, a gigantic painting by artist Christian Lemmerz is revealed. The wow-experience is complete.

COMPLETE EXPERIENCE FROM FLOOR TO CEILING

Below your feet are soft Dinesen planks on parts of the floor, in contrast to the large pentagonal granite tiles with an even rough surface elsewhere in the house. And above your head is a ceiling, where all installations are set up with the greatest accuracy and painted uniformly in black.

If you look up at the ceiling of the second floor, a gigantic painting by artist Christian Lemmerz is revealed. The wow-experience is complete.

NO DETAILS ARE LEFT TO CHANCE

A visit to the large multi-brand fashion house, designed by E+N Arkitektur A/S, is the total shopping experience. From the second you enter the store, you feel that there is nothing – absolutely nothing – left to random retail or cheap solutions.

FULL FOCUS ON SPECIAL SOLUTIONS

Morten Barnkob, Business Unit Manager at RIIS, has been involved in the project from the first mail was sent and until the last piece of furniture was brought into the store two minutes before the opening on June 1, 2017.

He describes the project as the ultimate and largest challenge of his career with full focus on special solutions in everything from furniture and lighting to ventilation, networking, sprinkler and much more.

FACTS ABOUT RØMERHUS

  • The property was erected in 1985 by master builder A.I. Petersen. Architect Sophus Frederik Kühnel is believed to have participated.
  • The building is located facing Skt. Clemens Bro in Aarhus, where it holds six floors.
  • Over the years, Rømerhus has been used for various clothing stores, speciality stores and liberal professions.
  • In 2011, the BESTSELLER Group bought the property and had E+N Arkitektur A/S return the building to its historic appearance, including a tower on top.
  • The thorough renovation has taken almost five years and its interior now appears as a super modern shop, where every detail is cherished.

“BESTSELLER told us that we had to come up with the most excellent we could think of – without pouring gold leaf all over it.”

– Morten Barnkob, Business Unit Manager, RIIS Group

NO GOLD BUT TONS OF EXCLUSIVE MATERIALS

In the ladies department, all shelves and clothing racks are designed by us and made of burnt stainless steel, giving the material a brass-like and exclusive shiny surface.

For Morten Barnkob and our colleagues, the racks gave us a tough time though, since the unpacking and handling of them turned out to be three times as time-consuming as intended.

LARGE PROJECT WITH MANY STAKEHOLDERS

The most difficult thing has been to make it on-time and comply with the budgets because the construction process itself was delayed. Due to delay, our team had to start installing furniture into a store that still looked like a large construction site.

The number of stakeholders in such a large project can hardly be counted, and Morten Barnkob has often sat in a construction meeting with 20 others. Everyone with an opinion and a point of view that he had to bring together. However, everything went out excellent in the end.

FINAL WORDS

We have put a special mark on countless solutions in this large store and we had to put things together to create the right expression.

If Morten Barnkob had to choose only one thing he is most pleased with, it is the acoustics and lighting in the fashion house.

“We are proud of the final result and consider it a success,” are the final words from Morten Barnkob.