“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
| Aug 15, 2013
What do LEED and black magic have in common? A project principal leverages PDFs to demystify it for us.
LEED has become a labyrinth of standards which requires a full-time translator and tour guide to navigate. Now with LEED v4 on the horizon, I’m curious to see if any progress has been made to make these standards more consumable and applicable to true innovations within the six areas of sustainability.
| Aug 15, 2013
Nonresidential construction finally gaining momentum: Gilbane summer economic report
Gilbane Building Company today announces the publication of the Summer 2013 edition of Construction Economics – Market Conditions in Construction. Based on an array of economic data, construction starts, and material cost trends, the data continues to show positive growth for the industry.
| Aug 14, 2013
Five projects receive 2013 Educational Facility Design Excellence Award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has selected five educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards.
| Aug 14, 2013
Warehouses go vertical in NAIOP distribution/fulfillment center design competition
NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has selected Ware Malcomb, a contemporary full-service architectural design firm headquartered in Irvine, California, and Riddell Kurczaba, a design consulting firm located in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as winners of the 2013 Distribution/Fulfillment Center Design of the Future.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 14, 2013
Military Construction Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 13, 2013
DPR's Phoenix office, designed by SmithGroupJJR, affirmed as world's largest ILFI-certified net-zero facility
The new Phoenix Regional Office of DPR Construction, designed by SmithGroupJJR, has been officially certified as a Net Zero Energy Building by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). It’s the largest building in the world to achieve Net Zero Energy Building Certification through the Institute to date.
| Aug 13, 2013
USGBC joins forces with Green Sports Alliance to promote sustainable venues
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced a collaboration with the Green Sports Alliance, a prominent nonprofit organization supporting the development and promotion of green building initiatives in professional and collegiate sports.
| Aug 12, 2013
Decade-long renovation of Kansas Capitol Building expected to be complete by year end
A $300 million-plus, decade-long renovation of the Kansas Capitol Building in Topeka is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The exterior refurbishing of copper over the four imposing wings and around the dome should be complete by late November.