Stilwerk- Large Format Retail in the heart of a German City Centre

Whilst on the recent LFRA Overseas Study Tour, attendees paid a visit to the Düsseldorf Large Format Retail shopping centre, Stilwerk.

What separated this precinct from the other sites that the team had visited along the trip, was this site’s unique location for Large Format.

The site was situated in the heart of Düsseldorf’s CBD and held a unique, sophisticated charm in its modern and chic layout across five levels.

Stilwerk Düsseldorf is described as a concept shopping centre, which has combined the best of architecture, furniture, and home decor in one precinct and better yet, in the heart of the CBD.

The Stilwerk, Düsseldorf precinct plays host to a number of ultra luxurious brands such as Lambert, Kartell, Champagner Galerie, Bretz, Nyhues, Siedle and Bauwerk, providing inner city shoppers a one-stop destination for all their interior design needs.

The shopping centre itself is artfully designed, with a modern glass roof and an elongated atrium complementing the styles of the chic and upper-market products found within the centre.

Boasting “classics to avant-garde in the kitchen to the study”, Stilwerk hosts dozens of brands for furnishings, home decor and lifestyle.

The Stilwerk brand has various stores across Berlin, Dusseldorf and Hamburg, with the Düsseldorf site covering a total of 17,000 square metres so that it can provide enough space to present large-scale objects adequately.

Uniquely, the centre also housed several art galleries on the upper level, to draw in clientele as well as add to the centres lush and high market atmosphere.

At the Café Heinemann, customers can dine in the centre whilst contemplating their next purchase and utilise the Stilwerk free childcare centre to allow parents to complete their shopping efficiently.

Described as a platform for design, art, culture, and life, Stilwerk has been creating interior experiences for more than 25 years.

In the three destinations in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg, a curated portfolio of premium brands ensures a holistic design service.

Comparatively, the two boutique hotels within the centres in Hamburg, make the concept unique and design for Large Format Retail accessible for those travelling and wishing to stay in the city centre whilst shopping with the centres luxurious brands.

Stilwerk Dusseldorf’s prime CBD location is close to Düsseldorf’s Königsallee, with the official architectural brief being to not simply turn the centre into one of Dusseldorf’s prime shopping addresses, but also to deal with the site’s high density.

Across its five stories, the centre contains 42 upmarket shops, specialising in sophisticated interior design and decoration.

This basic idea became the central theme of the project which places all the shops on an equal footing, grouping them around a central point from which they can all be seen at a glance. This unique and advanced design has resulted in Stilwerk Düsseldorf winning the Association of German Architects BDA Prize in 2000.

Unlike the other Stilwerk centres in Hamburg, the Düssdorf location does not host a hotel on premises.

Overall, attendees from the tour admired the centres distinguishing distinctiveness with its location, design, and occupancy.

Large Format in the heart of the city centre was a somewhat foreign concept from an Australian perspective yet sensical in the circumstances and heart of the bustling town centre in Düsseldorf.

This article is one of a ten-part series from the LFRA Overseas Study Tour 2023.