Plusminus accompanies the journey and brings warmth to a travel agency conceived as a boutique hotel

It is difficult to pinpoint the moment when a journey begins. Does it happen when the plane takes off? When we close the front door after checking that everything is in order? When we place the first pair of trousers, folded, in the suitcase? Some would say it does not officially begin until we set foot at our destination, with routine and everyday habits already far away, forgotten. But if the Nachbaur Reisen travel agency in the Austrian city of Feldkirch demonstrates anything, it is that the journey can – should – begin much earlier. The anticipation, the desire to plan every detail, the research into the place we are travelling to are all part of it too.

For this reason, in its new space, designed by Derenko studio, the journey begins as soon as you walk through the door. Its design is intended to make you feel as you would in a hotel: welcome, comfortable, cared for. The layout, materials and lighting evoke the formal language of a boutique hotel. A sculptural reception desk that welcomes visitors, wood that brings warmth, greenery dotted throughout every corner. It is a flexible space, with some more open areas and others more private, designed to accommodate families, groups of friends or individual travellers.

The Plusminus collection, with its flexibility and endless possibilities, adapts to the space and enters into dialogue with an interior architecture defined by curved lines to guide the journey organically. It transforms the space into a welcoming place, but does so in stages, without overwhelming – first the welcome, then the consultation and, finally, the private conversation – just as the best host in a hotel would. With its warm, layered light, it enhances the materials, accentuates the curve and the natural quality of the greenery.

The use of this collection at Nachbaur Reisen‘s headquarters highlights its versatility, a quality that Diez Office sought to take to its fullest expression when designing this reinvention of track lighting. At its core is a textile belt – available in different colours and finishes – with an integrated electrical conductor, allowing all kinds of luminaires to be placed along it and thus creating unique lighting for each space according to its requirements. The Plusminus collection is one of those within the Lighting Toolkit, conceived to design lighting solutions in the same way as a made-to-measure suit: adapting to materials, architecture and needs.

In this travel agency, it marks the route. At reception, to welcome visitors and enhance the counter, a linear diffuser with a textile belt in a beige finish was chosen. Beside it, in a corner perfect for that coffee over which the first ideas for the journey are sketched out, the textile belt in a Terra Red finish is loosened, with several spherical luminaires suspended from it. A modern, clean version of the chandelier that introduces a colour accent and reinforces the invitation to stay.

The same combination – the clean straightness of the linear diffusers and the looser arrangement of the suspended spheres – is repeated throughout the rest of the space. The diffusers softly illuminate the consultation tables. With their refined design, they recede to allow the conversation, the answers to every question and the carefully planned details to take centre stage. The suspended spheres bring clarity and warmth. They create corners in which to spend time, to share. Corners that could belong to the communal areas of a boutique hotel, inviting you to pause and let ideas settle before making the best decision.

The offices of Nachbaur Reisen speak of its values, its philosophy, and also of something more universal: that shared desire for face-to-face contact, closeness and a human, professional approach. With this project, they point to the direction ahead, the future of retail: points of sale that are much more than that, experiences in their own right. Thoughtful lighting, together with materiality and architecture, enables the space to convey that warmth and makes everyone who enters feel comfortable, welcome and in good hands. To feel that the journey has already begun.

Credits:
– Interior Design & Photography: © Derenko Innenarchitektur