Trier Gallerie

In many cases, shopping malls are self-contained worlds with no connection to the city or the surrounding landscape. Until the 1960s, it was common practice to forego natural light in shopping centers. The buildings and their stores were mostly windowless in order to maximize the floor space available for displaying merchandise. Clothing, food, and household appliances were effectively illuminated through the strategic use of artificial lighting. It wasn’t until the 1980s that people began to rediscover the virtues and qualities of the great models from Milan or Paris: the flagship store of “Galeries Lafayette” and the world’s oldest shopping arcade, “Galleria Vittorio Emanuele,” impressed with their imposing glass domes and glass roofs. The shopping arcade becomes part of the city once again. Daylight is welcome once more. When walls are needed for shelves, a glass roof is the only way to bring natural light into the space. At the same time, it is the most atmospheric way for light to enter. The world’s most famous shopping arcades prove this and serve as a model for the Trier Galerie.

A key requirement for the renovation of the Trier Galerie is that business operations must not be disrupted by the work. The INDU LIGHT team achieves this through a well-organized construction process, as well as precise planning and installation. During the construction phase, an eleven-meter-wide platform is built, which is moved forward as work progresses. Under a tent spanning the entire building, a moving crane lifts out the glass panels and re-installs them into the new “Glasline” profile system. This careful and resource-efficient reuse of reusable elements is a current example of the new concept of “urban mining.” It demonstrates how circular planning and construction can already work today. What applies to the glass panels applies to the “Glasline” system from INDU LIGHT as a whole: At the end of its life cycle, the system can be almost completely recycled and reused.