Dobas AG

Expanding horizons – On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, Letta Uhren und Schmuck AG wanted a fundamental renewal of its showroom and entrusted Dobas with the concept and execution. The venerable watch and jewelry retailer has been run by the same family for three generations. It is centrally located in Buchs, an up-and-coming town in the tri-nation triangle where Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria meet.

The project was both exciting and challenging. On the one hand, the unorthodox, partially oval floor plan spanning slightly more than 80 m2 was rather boxy and had to be transformed into a generously capacious space. Moreover, not least for affordability reasons, most of the existing internals and show window facilities had to be preserved.

The Dobas team members rolled back their sleeves and for once reversed the traditional “form follows function” formula. With the “Function follows form” approach, they placed an evocative elliptical island in the center of the semi-oval interior. The outcome was interesting: The original short paths were replaced by a tour open on two sides. It guides visitors, inviting them to view the exhibits close up as in a gallery. At the same time, the perspective from the entrance exposes the full expanse of the space. In many respects, the redesign opened up new horizons. Contributing factors included not only the new approach to spaciousness but also the underlying design concept as a whole: The interior ambiance projects considerably more harmony thanks to optimized materialization and a new lighting scheme. Additionally, the new concept simplifies internal procedures and customer support in general. – On the bottom line: The Letta project was very interesting and the result is persuasive – as regards deadlines and cost as well as customer feedback.

Concept, master planning, and completion: Dobas AG