In recent decades, franchises have taken over the optometry services and optical sales market. This trend has spawned a commodity-type approach to design of office and retail sales space.
Dr. Matthew Barber bucked this trend when he dropped his affiliation with an optical franchise and struck out on his own. Barber coupled this independent streak with an innovative design by Ibañez Shaw Architecture for his new office and retail business, Chroma, in Fort Worth, Texas.
![Optometry](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Chroma_204312-no%20katie_0.jpg)
The most striking differentiator contradicts a common design approach that uses stock design millwork display fixtures with backs to the storefront. This scheme often blocks daylight with posters and ad displays in windows.
Chroma, instead, inverted the conventional doc-in-the-box form to display a stylish collection of frames to the exterior. The design features a glass box extending from the mass of the building that holds displays of eyeglass frames. Daylight floods this space, illuminating a flowing display of fixtures, and penetrates the interior. A Chroma-branded line of frames are presented in backlit cubes embedded in a concrete wall. At night, these displays are lit with distinctive brand colors. From the outside, the illuminated structure resembles a sculpture protected by a glass case.
![doc-in-the-box](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Chroma_2_202096.jpg)
The design’s visual impact draws in patrons from the new “Dickies Arena,” a 14,000-seat multipurpose venue, across the street. The experience of the space and its bold image viewed from the exterior has become a core element of the brand. People often enter Chroma to get a better look at the space and end up purchasing new glasses. The design appears to be yielding bottom-line dividends—Chroma opened in March 2020 as the pandemic set in, and sales are up 30% from the pre-pandemic franchise practice despite the COVID-19 headwind.
Owner: Dr. Matthew Barber
Design architect: Ibanez Shaw Architecture
Architect of record: Ibanez Shaw Architecture
MEP engineer: BHB Engineers
Structural engineer: HnH Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: Steele Freeman
Related Stories
Affordable Housing | Aug 21, 2023
Essential housing: What’s in a name?
For many in our communities, rising rents and increased demand for housing means they are only one paycheck away from being unhoused. It’s time to stop thinking of affordable housing as a handout and start calling it what it is: Essential Housing.
Contractors | Aug 14, 2023
Fast-tracking construction projects offers both risk and reward
Understanding both the rewards and risk of fast-tracking a project can help owners, architects, engineers, and contractors maximize the benefits of this strategy and can bring great reward on all fronts when managed properly.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 31, 2023
6 multifamily housing projects win 2023 LEED Homes Awards
The 2023 LEED Homes Awards winners in the multifamily space represent green, LEED-certified buildings designed to provide clean indoor air and reduced energy consumption.
Office Buildings | Jun 28, 2023
When office-to-residential conversion works
The cost and design challenges involved with office-to-residential conversions can be daunting; designers need to devise creative uses to fully utilize the space.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 28, 2023
Sutton Tower, an 80-story multifamily development, completes construction in Manhattan’s Midtown East
In Manhattan’s Midtown East, the construction of Sutton Tower, an 80-story residential building, has been completed. Located in the Sutton Place neighborhood, the tower offers 120 for-sale residences, with the first move-ins scheduled for this summer. The project was designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen and developed by Gamma Real Estate and JVP Management. Lendlease, the general contractor, started construction in 2018.
Apartments | Jun 27, 2023
Dallas high-rise multifamily tower is first in state to receive WELL Gold certification
HALL Arts Residences, 28-story luxury residential high-rise in the Dallas Arts District, recently became the first high-rise multifamily tower in Texas to receive WELL Gold Certification, a designation issued by the International WELL Building Institute. The HKS-designed condominium tower was designed with numerous wellness details.
K-12 Schools | May 25, 2023
From net zero to net positive in K-12 schools
Perkins Eastman’s pursuit of healthy, net positive schools goes beyond environmental health; it targets all who work, teach, and learn inside them.
Office Buildings | May 15, 2023
Sixteen-story office tower will use 40% less energy than an average NYC office building
This month marks the completion of a new 16-story office tower that is being promoted as New York City’s most sustainable office structure. That boast is backed by an innovative HVAC system that features geothermal wells, dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) units, radiant heating and cooling, and a sophisticated control system to ensure that the elements work optimally together.
Office Buildings | May 4, 2023
In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property
In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub.
Mass Timber | May 3, 2023
Gensler-designed mid-rise will be Houston’s first mass timber commercial office building
A Houston project plans to achieve two firsts: the city’s first mass timber commercial office project, and the state of Texas’s first commercial office building targeting net zero energy operational carbon upon completion next year. Framework @ Block 10 is owned and managed by Hicks Ventures, a Houston-based development company.