Studio Four Design recently completed full architectural and graphic design services for Altar'd State Retail Stores, a Christian-based company located in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The two owners, whose combined retail background include executive positions at Proffit’s, Kohl’s, May Company (Macy’s), Hybrid, Walmart, and Goody’s,
presented us with a challenging project brief:
Develop a new retail concept that offers a lifestyle-specific experience for individuals with an interest in contemporary fashion, gifts and media. The design should reflect a modern and energetic environment
that is adaptable to both physical and graphic branding strategies. The program should include areas for apparel and accessories, a stage for local bands,
a coffee bar and an area for books, music and gifts.
Anything else? Did we mention that we have to be open in 12 weeks? No Problem!
The first six weeks were filled with intense design and documentation. We listened to their goals, researched trends and studied their competition. Our team then presented a complete architectural and graphic concept which transformed the existing shell space and their original layout into a vibrant store, offering signature design elements that can be easily repeated in future locations.
We worked closely with the selected contractor during the next six weeks to resolve critical design details for a poured concrete cash wrap, coordinate a specialty lighting package, and even helped build and install the store's most unique element ... two suspended panels over the cash wrap, each with nearly 15,000 marbles sandwiched between two perforated aluminum sheets.
A tight schedule and even tighter budget constraints meant using materials that were readily available and required little finishing. Individual “shops” were defined using curved walls faced with unfinished Luaun panels, with merchandise walls faced in a grid of galvanized plumbing flanges and pipes to create a low-cost, modular display system. The shops were visually connected with a floating acoustic tile ceiling angled to strategically miss critical building elements that couldn't be moved. Standard 2x4 tiles were staggered to enhance the visual effect as industrial strip fluorescents illuminate the cloud. The result is a dynamic volume that leads shoppers from the high-energy apparel areas to the more intimate book, music and stage area.
All floor display fixtures were custom designed and built from plywood sheets, reinforcing a design attitude of low-tech product presentation and echoing the straightforward, economic design of the store.
