ALDI SÜD's urban look

The store occupies around 1,500 square metres on the ground floor of Die Macherei, a mixed-use development in Munich's Berg am Laim district known for brick facades that nod to both the area's former brick works and ALDI SÜD's own roots. Architecture firm ADA planned the fit-out; Grünewald Design created the building's wayfinding using industrial materials such as welded pipe and Corten steel. Inside, exposed concrete and black lighting give the store an industrial look, a departure from ALDI SÜD's usual white scheme, with a backlit Corten-steel ALDI SÜD logo, made specifically for the project, mounted above the entrance.

"From the first concrete talks with our partners to the store's opening took less than eleven months," says Justus Rehn, who heads ALDI SÜD's Munich project development office, crediting long-standing partners for making that possible despite material shortages and a lack of skilled tradespeople at the time.