The existing structures were in some ways deficient (no floor slab, for instance) and in other ways overbuilt: lateral bracing had been installed to support a much taller vertical addition that was never constructed. Our design opened up the space by removing some of these diagonal braces, and by integrating those that needed to remain into the interior design.
Collaboration is the hallmark of Blu Dot’s design thinking, and the transformation of the two buildings into a new showroom was a joint effort between our office and Blu Dot’s own designers. Starting from abandoned buildings with dirt floors and boarded-up windows, the design emerged as selective subtraction and addition of structural and architectural elements. Superfluous bracing and internal walls were removed to open up the interior, and a false façade at the corner (never completed) was removed. Window openings were enlarged to create a consistent exterior rhythm and to let in more light. The board-formed concrete parapet infill was added to provide a uniform horizontal cap. Steel window frames popping out of the façade like over-sized Tiffany windows were fashioned to be in concert with the scale of the industrial windows found on nearby buildings.
The interior design was approached much like a gallery – the space is treated as an armature in which to display art, or, in this case, Blu Dot’s product line. The floors are finished with quiet but elegant wood flooring or polished concrete. Interior fixtures are integrated with structural elements resulting in a simple, crisp interior setting. The interior envelope is painted white to function as background for the pieces on display. Plinths were built on the interior side of the pop-out windows so furniture could be displayed at eye level from the exterior.