Italian bank ChiantiBanca has opened a string of new branches in Tuscany that are designed to look more like traditional local eateries than financial institutions.

Italian design studio DINN! and branding agency Crea International devised the Restaurant Experience Banking concept to integrate ChiantiBanca's customer services with a familiar local environment, such as a bar or restaurant.

"The design concept is a clear metaphor for the typical atmosphere of Chianti inns and their welcoming service," explain the designers.

Traditional cash desks are nowhere to be seen, replaced by groups of tables surrounded by bar stools, chairs and cushioned seating cubes. Brochures in the centre of the tables are arranged to look like restaurant menus.

Digital technologies include video teller machines (VTMs), which replace the standard ATMs, and a touch-screen wall displaying information and advertisements.

Informal spaces at the front of the banks function as welcome zones, plus there are also play areas for young children.

"Such innovative service design proves ChiantiBanca's will to provide Florence's downtown urban and financial fabric the alternative of a genuine bank that they can empathise with and come back to," comments Andrea Bianchi, CEO of ChiantiBanca.

Each branch shares a similar colour and material palette, including timber, Corten steel and earthy shades of brown and green.

The first two branches are located in Florence's Piazza Duomo and the town of Poggibonsi. Others have opened in Fontebecci and Monteriggioni, also in the region.

Other unusual designs for banking branches include a building with a chequered cloak and a bank with cardboard meeting rooms. See more bank design »

Photography is by Dario Garofalo.

Here's some information from DINN!

Restaurant Experience Banking for ChiantiBanca

The first revolutionary bank branch design is coming: a project aimed to upset the relations by blending the local heritage and the strongest customer service innovation of ever.

Client understanding

Restaurant Experience Banking concept is born from the need of ChiantiBanca to enhance the social and economic potential of the Tuscan territory, through an innovative service design for its branches.

Project insight

Starting from the idea to consolidate the relationships, the new service design gives life to an environment that recalls the inns of Chianti. The relational approach is more reassuring and confidential, thanks to a revolutionary layout that introduces different counselling areas: low tables with chairs, high tables with stools and zones for a closer privacy.

Tradition and modernity have been harmonised to create this new ChiantiBanca branch. The innovation is perceived from the welcome zone, an open and informal space where the banking advisor receives and invites the customer to sit at one of the tables place centrally offering a prompt service with the support of brochures.

The use of digital tools facilitates the direct access to information, underlining the innovative identity of the bank. New ATM stations have been prepared to provide an automated cash service, the use of which will be explained to the users. In this way it is facilitated a multichannel strategy justified by the complete absence of cash desks, moved in an area accessible by the customer only with the operators.

The strong attachment of ChiantiBanca to its origins is further transmitted from the elements on the perimeter, which promote the excellence of Chianti through an integrated displays and a video wall of communication. A digital communication system on the walls, called "Bacheca del Chianti", communicates the values and identity of the bank through information and graphical tools that recall the materials use in the concept design.

The spaces are characterised by the use of natural and sustainable materials, such ad wood and corten, and of pastel colors, such as walnut and green. The soft lighting enhances the rough pavement, creating a pure atmosphere where involve the client in the expression of Chianti.

Brand performances

The new layout marks the beginning of a new era for ChiantiBanca towards a relational approach with clients innovative that will increase the distinctiveness of the Cooperative Credit. Apart from being just a place for daily banking transactions, the new branches become an opportunity to promote local products.

The design, development and management of the project have been made by Crea International and DINN!