Delicacies to go and to sit...
The Donau-Einkaufszentrum (DEZ) Regensburg is a place where many people with different shopping patterns cavort: the spectrum ranges from quickly running errands to relaxed lingering. The vinzenzmurr branch there makes both possible with a newly designed sales counter and catering zone. The reopening after extensive modernization took place on 31 March 2021. In the middle of it all instead of just being there: the Drytile floor tile system, which can be installed in a flash without adhesive and can be removed just as quickly.
The situation before
Fully immersed in the flow of visitors, this position offers prominent visibility and perceptibility, but also meant that the tables and chairs for catering were located without demarcation from the general traffic area and passers-by streaming by caused a certain amount of commotion.
The situation afterwards
In order to change this and other aspects, the entire sales area of around 160 m² was redesigned. One half now consists of a generous U-shaped counter with adjoining refrigeration and storage rooms, which form the back wall for the other half with catering operations. This catering area is now no longer free-standing in the room, but is enclosed by a waist-high wooden balustrade. This creates a relaxed privacy with a well-balanced mixture of seeing and being seen. In order to emphasiz this effect of a "calm island in the shopping surf" and to stand out from the public part of the mall, a special floor covering was required. This floor covering had to be of high quality to match the range of goods on offer, but also quick to install, as time is money in retail. Also at the top of the wish list was an uncomplicated and complete removal in order to be able to return the rented space in its original condition at any time. The DryTile system exactly meets these requirements. After positive experiences in the shops in Illertissen and Dillingen on the Danube, vinzenzmurr decided in favour of this promising solution for the “flagship store” in Regenburg, too.
The DryTile building protocol
After rough cleaning and scraping off individual residues and incrustations, around 80 m² of DryTile tiles in the format of 60x60 cm (Soul series, colour anthracite) were laid dry in no time at all without adhesive, and the edges were cut using standard tools. Another advantage came in useful: DryTile can be walked on immediately without pointing. This was particularly relevant here because other trades such as painters, electricians, carpenters and shopfitters had to work in parallel and keep up the pace. In the late afternoon, the special DryTile pointing compound was applied and then allowed to harden overnight in a logistically elegant way. The pointed floor surface could be walked on the next morning and was ready for loading in the evening after a further 12 hours.
The conclusion
The new DryTile floor was thus completed within only 36 hours, de facto without any loss of time for the general construction site process. Hans Killer (site manager vinzenzmurr) was correspondingly satisfied, describing DryTile as a "real innovation", and can imagine its use in other branches, "because the result is also aesthetically convincing and looks very representative". Initial reactions show that the whole thing was worthwhile and is accepted.
