A chain of bakery stores in Hamburg is generating excitement in the realm of retail architecture and interior design. Created by Andre Poitiers, the shops of the chain "Dat Backhus", which each include a cafe area, all display a strict corporate identity while reacting very individually to their specific surroundings. Four representative shops of the chain are presented in this volume with photographs, plans and texts. The architect was able to find solutions to the problem of integrating the shops into surroundings ranging from Norman Foster's Media Centre in the heart of the city to the more modest dimensions of suburbia. The high-grade steel used for all the essential service fittings are a basic feature of all stores. Each building, however, has been given its own individual plan and design. The shops thus range in interior from the deliberately spartan to the elegantly decorative 1970s revival look.

Andre Poitiers studied architecture in Brunswick, Germany after completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter and at Asmas yacht building yards in Gluckstadt. He worked for Norman Foster in London and since 1995 runs his own architectural firm in Hamburg. He is a member of the BDA and was appointed to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2000.