Welcome signs: the best commercial design makes everyone feel at home

Residential Architect, April, 2005 by Meghan Drueding

cross purposes

The ascent of the big-box retailer hasn't been kind to elite writing instrument makers like the A.T. Cross Co. "With the demise of the small stationery store and the rise of the superstore. Cross had lost control of the way its product was presented," says Boston architect David Hacin, AIA. As part of its rebranding and repositioning strategy, the company hired his firm to design a prototype store for its products, which include pens, writing pads, and small leather goods.

Having already designed several shops for the skincare company Fresh, Hacin knew the value of a space that can easily adapt to varying product lines and presentation formats. His Cross store, on Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., consists of three main elements: a "pen wall" displaying the company's signature product in a colorful, well-lit grid; a "bookcase wall" containing individual desk vignettes: and a bin in the middle of the store showcasing writing accessories. Much of the shelving can be pulled out and reconfigured, and in the pen wall the colored acrylic panels flip to reveal a different color on the reverse side.

Materials reminiscent of mid-century Modern design (laminate, terrazzo tiled floors, steel, and wood) enhance Cross's overall message, as do furnishings inspired by the same era. "That whole mid-century period was very functional and utilitarian," says Lily Gordon, president of Cross Retail Ventures. "A lot of what we're offering today is about utility and lifestyle." For his part, Hacin likens his store design to a custom-home commission. "In private residential work, we do a lot of custom-built furniture to organize people's stuff. This store is doing just that--it's organizing product in a clear, modern way." Now it's doing so in two places: A second version of the prototype just opened in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

project: Cross Retail Store, Cambridge, Mass.

architect: Hacin Associates, Boston

contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction, Boston

project size: 600 square feet

construction cost: Withheld

photos: Bob O'Connor

log haven

When Jeff Kovel left his first job out of architecture school, at a firm that designed high-end log homes in Telluride, Colo., little did he know the log cabin motif would reappear later in his career. After nine years spent working on hip, contemporary residential and commercial projects, the Portland, Ore.-based architect designed Doug Fir, a restaurant, lounge, and music venue heavy on hunting-lodge imagery. "The primary move was to take the log cabin style and translate it into a modern, sophisticated way of detailing," he says.

He didn't have to work hard to convince his client. Kovel, AIA, owns Doug Fir himself, along with a couple of friends. The group saw potential in the dilapidated first floor and basement of a renovated Portland hotel, and once they came up with a name and concept the materials palette and design details came together. A tree farm in Canada supplied them with the 2,700 linear feet of Douglas fir logs needed to clad the 9,000-square-foot interior. The glass and metal detailing provides a modern edge, while cultured stone and faux fur elements enhance the hearthside atmosphere. Salvaged building parts--including barstools, honeycomb ceiling lighting, and the log slices that cover the downstairs bar--help the space to retain its retro feel. And the uneven textures of the wood help absorb excess sound during music performances, a trick that Kovel learned working on a home studio for singer Lenny Kravitz while with another firm. "The past and future collide in this project," the architect says. "We tried to create a sort of in-between vocabulary that wouldn't necessarily exist anywhere else." In other words, Doug Fir gives patrons exactly what they're looking for when they go out at night--a haven from the real world.

project: Doug Fir, Portland, Ore.

architect: Skylab Design, Portland

contractor: White Doug Construction, Portland

project size: 9,000 square feet

construction cost: Withheld

photos: Steve Cridland, except where noted

in salsa veritas

At 150 square feet, Big Ten Burrito is a tiny space. But the Ann Arbor, Mich., eatery carves out an identity with some deft design moves by local firm PLY Architecture. First and foremost, principals Karl Daubmann and Craig Borum, AIA, selected FinnForm, a red resin-coated plywood product, for the walls. "Because of the project's small size, we needed something uniform to define the space," says Borum. The red walls do that--and they also help draw the attention of pedestrian passers-by.

Custom plywood screens layered over the ceiling and side window accomplish several goals in one swoop. The Computerized Numerical Control-milled screens block the view of the restaurant next door and hide the mechanicals overhead. The factory process used to cut the 1/4-inch-thick pieces of wood produced relatively little waste. And the screens' warm color and groovy wave pattern turns an ordinary takeout place into a space with a strong visual impact. PLY also employed the CNC process to carve subtle curves into the plywood tiles covering the takeout counter, as well as the wood rings that stack to create cylindrical lamp shades. "With the lamps, if you cut the plywood thin enough, it starts to glow," Daubmann says. "A CNC machine allows those types of tolerances."