Dicentra | Rina Lovko Design Studio

Project – Dicentra, a wholesale flower store Total area – 300 square meters. m 

Location – Kiev, Ukraine 

Year – 2019 

Photo – Alexey Yanchenkov 

The customer, a wholesale flowers supplier Dicentra, contacted us for the second time. Dicentra has a huge warehouse and there it was necessary to create a retail space. The main point in the terms of reference was the construction of two refrigerators in one room. 

The first is a fridge showcase with cut flowers for retail. The second is closed for cut and potted plants wholesale. Also in the hall there should have been a reception for managers, a workplace for florists, utility rooms with a kitchen, and a shared toilet for guests and staff. 

A Soviet-era building similar to a hangar – 300 meters of open space without partitions. Previously, it was a workshop on the left bank of Kiev. The budget is limited, the area is huge, the deadlines are tight, and customer’s trust is complete. The conditions are challenging, so we had to look for non-standard solutions. 

The room is divided simply: two walls, and in the columns are in the middle. The floors are asphalt. We immediately decided that we would make them technical – fill it with concrete. There was whitewashing on the top of the walls, and green oil paint on the bottom. The paint was removed along with the plaster, and then the artist covered them with a primer and a glaze layer. The walls came out textured, which put together a general picture. The idea was to make everything look untouched: as if we had come, put down furniture and the store started working. 

We made refrigerators smaller and lower than the room itself. They were made of special thermal materials, and in one of them the aluminum windows were put for display cases. Equipped with sliding doors and motion sensors. Aluminum was chosen so that the refrigerator would fulfill its task, keep the cold. They were faced with standard plywood sheets. In general, the space looks like a large hangar, in which two smaller cubes were inserted. Between the cooler cubes there is a race for large unloading trolleys, on the contrary there is a wide reception for four people. 

Inside, refrigerators are painted in graphite color. The decision is due to the product: flowers on a black background look bright and contrast, which is good for sale. We supported this with lighting and specially selected such that the flowers looked even brighter. 

The general lighting in the hall was made simple - these are LED tubes hanging from the ceiling, each on a separate wire. Wiring - without breaking the walls, we put all the cables into the trays. Light and arrangement of furniture emphasized the length of the hangar. 

Already in the process of work, an unexpected item appeared in the terms of reference - the office of managers. They found a solution: they made the office completely mirrored and 

placed it in the room like a third cube - with edges not reaching the walls, so as not to hurt the communications. Such a solution visually increased the space and it seemed that the long hangar became even longer. 

All furniture is made of stainless steel and is lined with gray terazzo plates made to order. This is a unique solution for Ukraine. The corners of the furniture were cut at 45 degrees. Our studio previously developed a table for florists for the Dicentra store in Lviv. Then they put the same, but from other materials. It is double-sided, with drawers and waste bins for stainless steel waste on both sides. The table is heavy, but on wheels, so it can be moved around - this is useful on days that are selling for flower suppliers: March 8, February 14 and school holidays. The need to move the table was also in the technical task. Above the table is a lamp with a diffuser for comfortable work, but on the contrary a mirror, as florists, in the process of working, need to see the bouquet from the side. 

For visitors, they put light and practical outdoor furniture - metal tables and chairs. Around the guest area put the plants that they picked themselves. 

We also developed mobile shelves for transporting flowers. Flowers are always different, so the shelves were made with special milling, which allows you to quickly change the height of the mount. Shelves made of black perforated stainless steel. The second color - Magenta, closer to purple, was chosen to dilute their overall metal background. 

The main entrance is made of red perforated mesh, and above it we placed a neon sign. Against the background of the industrial zone, this is very noticeable, which, again, is advantageous in terms of retail sales.