Flagship store H&M Antwerp Meir
The shopping street of choice in Belgium is probably Antwerp's Meir. Not surprisingly, the Swedish H&M established itself here a few years ago with a 6500m2 flagship store. To meet the contemporary desires of every shop lover, the store was given a new, modern look: clean lines, lots of white and bright spaces. Based on this philosophy, H&M looked for a partner who could create a lighting installation that would subtly attract shoppers' attention. The lighting installation had to complement the entire shopping experience in a natural way.
Challenge
The design of this lighting installation had to meet some key criteria set by H&M's team. The installation had to fit in seamlessly with the architecture, be in line with H&M's philosophy and contribute to the coherence of the new store design. In addition, the installation must also be flexible in its use, must not be an obstacle for shoppers, and subtle lighting effects must ensure the right atmosphere in the store.
Result
Together with H&M, we set to work and came up with a gigantic light wall measuring up to 10 metres high and 9 metres wide. The wall consists of 30 light boxes, each centrally equipped with a custom designed 360° full-colour LED tube. This allows the installation to display a wide spectrum of colours. Programmed scripts ensure that the colour of the light perfectly matches the different phases throughout the day and year. In the morning, the store is bathed in a bright light while in the evening, the day is closed with the hues of a warm sunset. Additional scripts may even be provided for the Christmas period and other events in the future. The boxes are each covered with a white, translucent cloth that will blend the light beautifully. These cloths are easily interchangeable, allowing the installation to be used flexibly in the store, for example by using printed cloths.
The installation adds subtle value to the shoppers' shopping experience: they will immediately sense the atmosphere. The light wall creates a large, open, and bright feeling in the store, thus perfectly matching H&M's demand and philosophy.
