Department Store, KaDeWe

Laaser marble enhances the delicatessen floor at Germany’s best-known department store

The Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) is Germany’s best-known department store and, with 60,000 m² of sales space, one of the largest in Europe. Since the late 1920s, the delicatessen department on the sixth floor has been one of the main attractions of this Berlin luxury department store. Following renovation work in 1978, the KaDeWe boasts the second-largest food department of any department store worldwide. In 2018, the owner, the Thai Central Group, decided to undertake a major refurbishment of the “Food hall” — the official and internationally compatible name for the gourmet floor, which covers 7,500 m². As part of the redesign, commissioned from Berlin design studio Karhard, Laaser Marmo supplied the champagne bar counter in the same year, crafted from solid LASA BIANCO NUVOLATO^® marble. For the newly designed cheese section, the LASA FANTASTICO^® product line was supplied for the counter ledge at the cheese counter.

The KaDeWe has been a department store of superlatives since its foundation in 1907. As one of the largest department stores in the world, this Berlin institution continually reinvents itself, blending tradition with modernity. The shop windows and interior architecture of the KaDeWe reflect current trends. The entire sixth floor is dedicated to delicatessen and fine dining, and with its numerous specialty restaurants and delicatessen departments, it has always been a magnet for curious and discerning gourmets.

The architects Thomas Karsten and Alexandra Erhard from Berlin design studio Karhard stage the food on offer in the redesigned sections of the “Food hall” through the chosen form of interior architecture. Conceptually, the materials used, combined with lighting and a tactile experience geared towards the senses, complement the products on display. Naturally, the focus in the champagne bar is on French sparkling wine from Champagne. To create this ambience, the interior designers used Laaser marble from the LASA BIANCO NUVOLATO^® product line, polished gold surfaces and a cream-coloured terrazzo floor to evoke a champagne-like atmosphere. Even the spherical lamps recall the effervescent bubbles of champagne. The counter ledge for the sales counter in the spacious cheese section of the KaDeWe, which offers more than 1,300 varieties of cheese from around the world, is equally stylishly designed. Here, Laaser marble from the LASA FANTASTICO^® product line echoes the natural hues of many a fine cheese specialty.