Kościelna Street in Poznań's Jeżyce district provides an important bicycle link between the vibrant neighbourhood and the greenery of Sołacz parks. It is here, at the meeting point of the two districts, in a former car showroom, that Adam and Wojtek Smorawiński decided to open a shop for cyclists called New Bike Day, inviting to collab Paweł Garus, Jerzy Woźniak and Alicja Maculewicz from the mode:lina team.
The shop's owners, themselves coming from an automotive background, focused on introducing a new quality to the cycling world when deciding on their new investment. Adam Smorawinski emphasises:"We wanted to create a place that refects our passion for bicycles and brings the automotive and cycling worlds together by introducing new quality standards to them." In this context, the location of the shop with its accompanying workshop in a former car showroom has a deeply symbolic dimension.
The choice of this location strongly infuenced the design decisions. The old premises, equipped with ramps for transporting cars, required measures to allow customers to move around the shop safely. For this reason, the designers decided to create a functional layout based on plywood plafonds that locally level the foors, while at the same time providing an attractive display space for the products. From the outset, the developers paid close attention to avoiding an "overloading" efect caused by the typical way in which many bicycle shops shop their products in a small space. As a result, the platforms separate zones dedicated to brands - city, cargo, MTB, road and gravel bikes, Brompton folding bikes and children's bikes. Each has its own dedicated piece of furniture developed with attention to detail. Made of steel, plywood and plastic boxes, the racks, evoking the austerity of industrial design associated with the history of Jeżyce district, are balanced by the warm atmosphere of wood.
Responding to the necessity of changing and adapting the assortment, steel grids and plywood pegboards were also designed, which allow for free shaping of the display of smaller products. The whole is complemented by distinctive, modern branding in the form of visual identity and display content, for which Minima Advertising People was responsible.
The space between the platforms has been shaped as a cycle route circling the product areas, thus becoming a 'test lane' for customers and a place to record promotional material. Fragments of the old ramps, which have been left on view, also make it possible to do simple tricks on them. The centrepiece of the shop is a cubicle with a sales counter. Finished in simple white tiles, it houses the social areas and ftting room and is the backdrop for the cycling accessories available in the shop. Complemented by bar seating and a cofee machine, it acts as a meeting place. The café-like atmosphere of the heart of the shop attracts customers to spend time in a friendly atmosphere and makes New Bike Day not only a shop, but also a new place for the formation of cycling culture on the map of Poznań.
