Meier Garden Center

The Meier Garden Centre in Dürnten, Switzerland stocks a wide variety of flowers and plants and outdoor furniture in a kaleidoscope of colours, timbers, natural forms and geometric elements. This colourful microcosm is located on a trapezoidal site surrounded by busy roads in a two-floor complex designed by architect Gerhard Radeck. From Kreuzstrasse street, shoppers gain vehicular access to the complex or, via ramps, to the underground car park (along with warehouses and toilets) or to the parking spaces located at the end of the building. A slender but imposing metal structure marks the entrance to the Centre, followed by a filter area, the checkout areas and the entrance to the retail spaces filled with flowers, plants and furniture. Above the checkouts two large circular openings connect the ground floor with the upper level accommodating the café/restaurant, offices, toilets, etc.
The centre has a floor space of around 20,000 square metres and comprises a two-storey compact front with a flat roof, based on a shopping centre model, and a display and retail area with plants and flowers of every kind reminiscent of a large hothouse. Seven bays with fully-glazed gable roofs closed off by clear partitions at the rear of the complex allow natural lighting to flood into the large and otherwise dark spaces. The orientation of the east-south-west section was also chosen to ensure maximum exposure to natural light.
For the boundary surfaces, architect Gerhard Radeck chose neutral tones to create an almost monochrome background that would accentuate the natural colours of the flowers and plants. For the floor covering, the architect opted for Infinity Stone from Gardenia Orchidea for the showroom and retail spaces, the interior stairs connecting the floors, and the customer and staff toilets. The tiles were chosen principally in a square version with almost imperceptible joints to create a practically continuous floor surface. The gray shade and the pleasant variations in colour between one tile and another make for a soft, natural surface that harmonises well with the colour chosen for the columns, floors and infill walls. The brightly lit and chromatically continuous space is dominated visually by the greenery in its many forms and colours. As a kind of indoor nursery, the store offers customers a wide range of plants, bulbs and seeds as well as outdoor furnishing items ideal for creating a fully customised garden.