First Paris, quite obviously, then New York City and Bordeaux, and now, Berlin. The global retail expansion of ethical sneaker brand VEJA continues with a strikingly understated store in the German capital’s buzzing Mitte district. The retail space occupies a lofty 100 sqm. (1,076 sq.ft.) ground floor unit of a residential structure built in 2006, featuring a minimalist interior design by Berlin-based architecture practice Gonzalez Haase that not only seamlessly adapts to its modern concrete shell, but also its environmental brand values. Clean and uncluttered, the light-filled spaces sees an exposed ceiling and walls as a backdrop for tiered displays crafted from a mixture of concrete and soil by German artisan Frank Lennart, and elongated timber benches. In a separate section, encapsulated by slabs of mirror and mesh metal panelling, sits the sales counter, and tight behind, a workshop and storage space. Running along the ceiling from the front to the back of the store are LED linear lights which optically widen the space, and speaking of which, the electricity is supplied by Bürgerewerke, a local energy company which only uses renewable energy sources such as sunlight, wind and water. The new VEJA store stocks the brand’s full range of merchandise for men, women and kids.
VEJA
Alte Schönhauserstrasse 42 (Mitte)
10119 Berlin
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
