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Plexiglas
is a synthetic polymer developed in various American
laboratories from 1928
which was brought to market in 1933 by the Germ firm Rohm
and Haas Company (GmbH & Co. KG) in 1933. Due to the
fact that it is heat resistant, transparent and hard
wearing, Plexiglas was used immediately to make
submarine periscopes, and
windshields, canopies, and gun turrets for airplanes. It has
been widely used ever since in the
transport industry as well as the health sector for making
false teeth, lenses and prostheses etc.
Today, a huge range of normal
household objects are made with this material as it can be
quickly moulded into forms and panels without having to use
any sophisticated equipment.
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Oppermann Apotheke
- Hamburg (Germany) |
Plexiglas is structured in a similar way to plastic,
making it both elastic and robust (as long as the right
thickness is used). It has a unique colour that is very
different to glass (which is less transparent when too thick
as well as becoming very heavy and taking on a blue/green
tinge). Plexiglas and all
methacrylate variants
maintain their transparency even when they are around 1 cm
thick. For all of the above reasons, Plexiglas is one of the
designer's favourite materials when making shop fittings.
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Back-lit fittings in Plexiglas
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Sartoretto Verna
conceives
acrylic glass as material
light, able to bring products closer to the customer and
capable of freeing products from rigid shelf units.
Light passes through acrylic glass, illuminating all the
surrounding surfaces uniformly. The most brightly lit
objects stand out and seem suspended in mid-air as if by an
invisible thread, inviting customers to come and pick them
up. Research into the effect of light and colour on
consumers confirm that people prefer softy-lit interiors to
bright ones as soft mood lighting is a sort of anecdote to
the stress and rush of modern day living. Acrylic glass is
the most suitable material to achieve this lighting effect.
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®Ral System1 gondolas in back-lit Plexiglas |
Methacrylate gondolas on wheels are
luminous and create islands of colour in the centre of the
pharmacy or in a strategic position. They double facing and
have 5 shelves on each side. The lowest one is made out of
inox steel and acts as the base, The other 4 are made out of
transparent acrylic glass moulded into tub shaped containers
that can be angled towards the floor or ceiling. The opaque
acrylic glass sides and sign on top are lit up and feature
logos and/or banners. They can be combined with other
gondolas too.
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®Ral System1 shelf divider in Plexiglas with
backlighting |
The ®Ral System1
display units have back-lit shelf dividers that make the prescription
or cosmetics counter glow. This system has evolved using new
materials to allow products to be illuminated from all
directions. The source of light is brought out to the front
of the display unit, calling customers over. Flat-screen
multimedia displays can also be installed, making it an
advanced and innovate sales machine.
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®Ral System2 counter with a back-lit Plexiglas
base |
The
®Ral System 2's
brightly lit one-person counters
bring customers over to key
sectors, highlighting the product's
category and attracting passer-by's attention when the
pharmacy's lights are turned off at night. The counter is an
active means of communication which is part of a pharmacy's
core hardware.
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®Ralboo and counter light fittings made out
of Plexiglas
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In the shop window, a forest of bamboo in
transparent methacrylate changes colour and attracts the
attention of passers-by.
The idea comes from long thin
canes of bamboo which have been transformed into transparent
illuminated methacrylate ®Ralboo poles that change colour (the
colour's brightness and the frequency with which it changes
colour can be varied). The base has a pivot allowing the
bamboo canes to be rotated and they can be combined together
to create an infinite range of displays. Products are
displayed upon methacrylate circular shelves akin to "leaves"
whose position is variable.
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