With a small fixed budget, the owners of a new speciality bike shop in Cologne set themselves an ambitious target of creating a new interior to an old dilapidated internal shell. The shop, which is located on an ideal site along Roman Cardo Street in the heart of Cologne, had no spatial or atmospheric qualities with an existing interior of grey tiles and peeling purple paint.
The owners opted for an imaginative solution in order to develop a flexible creative space that was both inviting but also suited the nature of their business. A basic every day construction material that resonated with their theme allowed them to easily achieve this – galvanized steel Euro Formwork. The flexibility of the system allowed the interior fit out to be completed by its owner within five days.
The steel formwork has been used to serve many different purposes: room dividers, panelling, as doors, creation of a counter and shelving. A variety of connection techniques have been deployed to create different spaces including the payment area and a bike gallery, where bikes are hung off the formwork. Simple plywood crates with recycled foam are used to display some of the cycling equipment. The remaining visible surfaces – especially the ceiling – were painted grey to reflect the visible white cabling used throughout the interior space.
A unique interior space has been created using galvanized steel Formwork. With the explicit intension of the formwork being reused within the construction industry
Individual functions are fulfilled by the design through a variety of modifications. This includes the use of galvanized steel panels either as backing to the lattice structure, as infills, or as shelving with the connections being made using magnets that provide an easy clutter free solution. Modified anchor rods have also been used alongside a propriety Euro Formwork anchor system to create a gallery space for the bike display area.
Ultimately, the use of steel Euro Formwork for the internal display steelwork was used with sustainability in mind. It is planned that if the use of the interior space was ever to change the formwork would be reused by the construction industry for shuttering concrete structures.
Dust and Tar is a new speciality bike shop located along Roman Cardo Street, in the heart of Cologne
Since the opening, the bike shop has not only become a popular destination for cycling enthusiasts but also as a social meeting place, given its universality and the energy of its owners.
