blocher partners

With the most extensive renovation and reconstruction in the over 100-year history of the family business Garhammer, the architects and interior designers of Blocher Blocher Partners have carefully expanded the complex commercial property in Waldkirchen in three building phases. And extended the building northward, with a major new construction of some 2,500 square meters, linked to the original structure via several glassed-in skyways. The result is 9,000 square meters of retail space, up to four-storeys high, extending between the Market Square and Ringmauerstraße. Due to the steep topography of Waldkirchen's downtown area, the arrangement of space follows the site's natural features. In keeping with the principle of split-level construction, several floors are set off from one another, with each level having its own identity. Whatever their standpoint, customers take in exciting vistas and absorb new impressions. One might say that the historic city centre, with its squares, its alleyways and stairways, has a friend in the new Garhammer.

The roof landscape combines the historic and modern buildings like wings of a butterfly, before the joint structure gently slopes toward the northwestern edge of the property, leading to the new restaurant "Johanns". The theme continues in the access areas, which link Garhammer to the urban space using multiple entrances, exits and passageways, making the retail store accessible from all sides. The interior is no less daring: Here, the creative use of varying ceiling heights, open spaces and sales levels leads to differentiated realms of experience.

Blocher Blocher Partners also ensured that customers not lose their orientation in the vast space. Given the slope of the Garhammer property, the architects and designers made playful use of the split-level format in the sales area. Of course there are staircases and lifts – but the charm lies in the abandonment of the classic floor construction. As a central connecting element, the staircase links all the levels, even as it varies stylistically: sometimes a simple landing stage; sometimes with multiple turns or gently curved staircases. Occasionally, a small skywalk or skyway makes it easy to go from the old building to the new. The "airspace bridging" is particularly impressive in the new building. Here, a construct reminiscent of an M.C. Escher etching, with pillars, spiral staircases and pedestals, reaches upward from the furniture store "Freiraum," across the handbags, children's and women's departments toward the third-floor skylight. Even in the original building, the airspace draws attention, in part because the path to the access core leads through a tunnel and a mirrored ceiling – the pretty chiaroscuro effects are no accident.

The fact that, with all their fascination for detail, the planners did not lose sight of the project as a whole is also due to the mediation between architecture and interior design. Numerous points of reference make it easy to find your way in the house; be it on a particular floor or over several levels. For example, there are specific pieces of furniture placed near the entrances to stairways. While the front is decorated with products as usual, the back serves as a graphic indicator to customers. And there is another recurring theme in the new Garhammer: Tradition and modernity. They go hand in hand in this interior design concept. Garhammer exemplifies this duality: Big-city fashion is sold here with a down-to-earth Bavarian flair. So it makes sense that "Johanns" also reflects these values – the new culinary attraction high in the new building – with its wine cellier, lounge, restaurant and a roof terrace, which promises a sensational view.