Fireplace - Showroom for a stove maker

In 1962, the father of our client Andreas founded the stove workshop Pöhl. Today, Andreas, a master stove-builder himself, is the owner of the company.

The property, consisting of production bay, administration and showroom, is located in the Handwerkerzone (the Crafts and Trades Quarter) of Collalbo on Renon mountain, a municipality strongly anchored in skilled trades.

The driving force for redesign was a vision of a clearly laid-out and well-arranged showroom. In search of a customized stove, clients entering the premises embark on an expedition, stepping into the world of wood stoves, a tradition cultivated for centuries in the Alps.

Facing the street, the showroom consists of an area in the front with an elevated ceiling giving way to a vaulted roof moving to an area in the back with a suspended ceiling.

An open hearth – gathering site to mankind since the beginning of time - stands at the center of the showroom, becoming its essential element. Four charred wooden stage walls laid-out orthogonally around the "replace form the backdrop for the displays of stoves and tiles. In their midst, sits complacently heavy the hearth’s monolith rock – whispering tales of times long past – almost unprocessed, primal and raw. Rising above, the exhaust hood waits patiently its turn only to surrender to the chimney.

An ashen-colored carpeting, oiled MDF furniture, Heraklith ceiling and wall panels, a coarse green plaster and an interior roof structure painted in black elicit forever archaic motifs associated with "re. Suspended below the vaulted roof, two metal rings – painted black – illuminate the showroom, eliciting the cozy atmosphere of an open "replace. The brass used for the logo, the exhaustion hood and the bar nook creates subtly glistening highlights.

The atmosphere inhabiting the newly designed space answers our client’s call for creating a space for both display and welcoming reception that re#ects the company’s philosophy driven by competence, reliability and quality, all conjoined by sensibility.

Architecture, Interior Design, Site Management: David Messner, Verena Messner
Paint Works: Felix Quinz
Metal Works: Roland Battisti