“Curb appeal” – the combination of aesthetic elements that attracts potential customers – is a common goal among retail establishments.
For Furniture Row Companies, it’s an aspiration that takes on unique significance, as each of the retailer’s furniture centers includes four distinct specialty stores: Sofa Mart, Oak Express, Bedroom Expressions and Denver Mattress Co.
“These buildings are our national image and they need to be unique,” says Larry Fore, who oversees corporate construction for Furniture Row Companies nationwide. “We want people to recognize the buildings immediately upon seeing them. That’s what it’s all about.”
At Furniture Row’s newest center in Charlotte, N.C., a custom steel building by Star Building Systems enabled the retailer to achieve the flexibility, distinctive branding and interior aesthetic environment that wasn’t feasible through conventional construction.
Constructing the 69,631-sf structure involved several challenging design elements, including a complex roof with clerestory windows and a series of complex hips and valleys.
“We strive for efficiency in our buildings and architecture, and these buildings can’t be constructed any other way efficiently,” Fore says. “They are more difficult to build than a typical metal building structure because of the multifaceted roof.”
The combination of materials on the exterior storefronts helps to shape the aesthetic distinctiveness and unique identity of each specialty store.
“We used stone, brick, some decorative metals and even a log structure on part of the building,” says John Tweedy, project manager at Intergroup Architects in Littleton, Colo. “It doesn’t look like your typical metal building.”
The standing seam metal roof provides strong, clean vertical lines, and a ribbon of windows along both sides of the building brings in considerable natural light.
Steel canopies highlight each store entrance, and full cathedral-ceiling dormers – two with clerestories – provide a commanding custom presence for each retail brand.
The interior space takes advantage of the vast spans accommodated by metal building systems, providing a connected interior environment that enables shoppers to discover and shop for merchandise at multiple “stores” within the structure efficiently.
Most of the interior steel is exposed, and the columns are painted various colors to blend with the surrounding areas. The exposed white insulation facing, white painted rafters and lighting contribute to a bright aesthetic appeal.
“There’s quite a bit of exterior and interior flexibility available with metal wall panels,” Tweedy says. “When you work with a retailer, you’ve got to be creative with how you design and put the pieces together because curb appeal is so important to them.”
Based in Denver, Furniture Row Companies operates 80 multi-store centers and 30 standalone stores in 31 states.
Building Team
Owner: Furniture Row USA, LLC, Denver
Star Builder: Furniture Row USA, Charlotte, N.C.
Architect: Intergroup Architects, Littleton, Colo.
General Contractor: Catamount Constructors, Inc., Denver
Erector: Five Starr Steel, LLC, New Caney, Texas
For more information on Star Building Systems, visit: http://www.starbuildings.com.
Related Stories
| Nov 27, 2013
Retail renaissance: What's next?
The retail construction category, long in the doldrums, is roaring back to life. Send us your comments and projects as we prepare coverage for this exciting sector.
| Nov 27, 2013
Pediatric hospitals improve care with flexible, age-sensitive design
Pediatric hospitals face many of the same concerns as their adult counterparts. Inpatient bed demand is declining, outpatient visits are soaring, and there is a higher level of focus on prevention and reduced readmissions.
| Nov 27, 2013
Exclusive survey: Revenues increased at nearly half of AEC firms in 2013
Forty-six percent of the respondents to an exclusive BD+C survey of AEC professionals reported that revenues had increased this year compared to 2012, with another 24.2% saying cash flow had stayed the same.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 27, 2013
LEED for Healthcare offers new paths to green
LEED for Healthcare debuted in spring 2011, and certifications are now beginning to roll in. They include the new Puyallup (Wash.) Medical Center and the W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.
| Nov 27, 2013
University reconstruction projects: The 5 keys to success
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the environmental, economic, and market pressures affecting facility planning for universities and colleges, and outlines current approaches to renovations for critical academic spaces.
| Nov 26, 2013
7 ways to make your firm more successful
Like all professional services businesses, AEC firms are challenged to effectively manage people. And even though people can be rather unpredictable, a firm’s success doesn’t have to be. Here are seven ways to make your firm more successful in the face of market variability and uncertainty.
| Nov 26, 2013
Video: Zaha Hadid's stadium for Qatar 2022 World Cup
Zaha Hadid Architects, in conjunction with AECOM, has released renderings for a major stadium being designed for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup--an event that will involve up to nine stadiums.
| Nov 26, 2013
First Look: World's tallest Ferris wheel and surrounding N.Y. development
The New York office of Perkins Eastman has announced that the New York Wheel, located on the north shore of Staten Island’s St. George neighborhood, was approved by City Council on October 30 and construction is scheduled to begin in 2014. The approval process has been over a year in the making since the project was first announced by the office of Mayor Bloomberg last September.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.