Shining experience for sun protection
umdasch realizes Warema Sun Forum in Wertheim
The new Warema Sun Forum in Wertheim (DE) has been presenting an unprecedented concept for shading systems since the end of November. The extraordinary staging turns the abstract topic of sun protection into an emotional experience. Responsible for the design, digital elements and holistic implementation as general contractor are the Store Makers of umdasch.
The new Warema Sun Forum in a prime location in Wertheim takes visitors on a journey into the brand world of the manufacturer. On a total area of 1,600 qm the whole variety of modern sun protection can be discovered. The architects and digital designers at umdasch have come up with something special for this: In a total of eleven suggested houses, different applications of roller shutters, awnings & Co. can be tried out. If a visitor wants more information on a particular product, he can browse through screens and use his smartphone to put together a personal digital folder.
The Warema houses, cut on one side, are dedicated to different areas such as "living" and "working". Depending on where they are used, guests will find suitable solutions whose effect and appearance they can try out and experience both from inside and outside. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a digital table, which is placed between the different houses like a village fountain. It serves as a "magical" consulting tool for all aspects of control systems, collections and products. Great importance was attached to digital touchpoints: The digital retail professionals from umdasch installed a screen in each house, which communicates the entire product world. In addition, customers can find an interactive map and several digital info counters for orientation in the Sun Forum.
Change of perspective of light and shadow
The iconic houses in the village are divided into three zones: the experience space in the building, the green "oasis" in the courtyard and the open sky on the terrace. This allows a wide variety of daylight situations to be experienced. "The arrangement is stereotypical all the way to the village fountain. There is no classic route in the Customer Journey – the visitors' urge to play should be awakened and the tour should become an event for discovering and collecting", explains Phillip Zipfinger as the responsible architect of umdasch.
Ramona Lorenz, responsible for digital content creation at umdasch, adds: "With the digital consulting app we created, customers get everything they need to read important information about the products at home and buy them at their local retailer. How this is done is explained in a lock outside the showroom. An informative video runs on an oversized screen that clearly illustrates the process of discovering and scanning. "From concept to storyboard to animation, the video comes entirely from umdasch Digital Retail," says Ramona Lorenz proudly.
The two Store Makers are particularly proud of the successful implementation of the "wishing well": It presents the Warema range of control elements for smart homes. The digital professionals at umdasch took up this theme and developed a playful animation of moving water when touching the touch screen. "Here, customer wishes come true all by themselves – just like the future automated awning," adds Ramona Lorenz.
The individual Warema houses were fitted with various openings such as corner glazing, sliding doors or French balconies by umdasch's interior design professionals. In this way, they indicate the most diverse areas of application and make the products of the Warema brand tangible.
All houses are connected by a complete furnishing in order to authentically present the character of the product range and at the same time offer numerous possibilities: The "cooking" area, for example, is also used for entertaining guests in a smart way, while the "play" area is ideal for the little ones to let off steam. An implied office, on the other hand, offers employees an actual workplace. The advantage for retailers and architects: They can use the exhibition for their own advisory discussions or arrange for their customers to talk to a Warema expert on site.
Dazzling ideas for shady spots
There is much more behind the holistic concept of the Store Makers than the obvious advantages for customers and retailers. Houses and floors have been deliberately kept in white so that the product range is the focus of attention and forms a contrast to its surroundings. A giant light box in the background of the houses indicates a sunrise and allows the shading solutions to come into their own. It also enhances the external perception through the glass fronts. According to Zipfinger, this was an important part of the concept anyway: "We specifically illuminated the cut edges of the houses to make them visible far outside the showroom – especially in the evening when the sun sets behind the Sun Forum". The strategic ideas go even further.
"The branding elements are also transported consistently," adds Ramona Lorenz. Entering and leaving the showroom, one encounters the Warema History Wall. It depicts the history and successes of Warema and uses moving images on the digital signage screens to transport brand values that will be remembered.
"The Sun Forum is a gamechanger for the industry. It is becoming increasingly important for stores and showrooms to tell a story. The visitor must be guided - not only architecturally, but also digitally," summarizes Ramona Lorenz.
"If you look around the market environment, you can see a great deal of courage on the part of Warema – filling a hall with a cleverly designed 'village', charging a highly technical product with emotions and making it playful to experience is absolutely unique," agrees Zipfinger. And he concludes: "This closeness to the application and the lightness of design makes the wide range of products easier for customers to understand. Warema is thus moving closer to its end customers as a producer".
