Client City of London (Heritage Preservation London)

Location 204-206 Dundas St. London, ON

Size  702 m sq.

​

Objective An existing government office building on the main street of downtown London, Ontario has been sold to a new retail corporation. This company plans to integrate innovative technology and merchandising that attracts customers while promoting local businesses. 

 

Design Challenge Maintaining the qualities of a heritage building while creating a  functional working space for the client. The space must be able to support both the retail merchandise (of my choice) and a space that represents the community. 

​

Solution Originally a movie theater, this re-purposed building is now a retail space for people in the community to showcase and sell their craftsmanship weather it be furniture, fashion or art. Local businesses owned by people who live and work in the region invest much more than just their dollars into the community. They build strong neighborhoods by sustaining communities, linking neighbors, and contributing to local causes. Inspiration is drawn from the history of the building (specifically the movie theater) and the bones of the building itself. Keeping the materials raw with simple accents allowed the beauty of the natural brick to be showcased throughout the spaces. Every installation is purposeful and draws customers through the spaces with ease. The custom furniture wall allows the space to show off many pieces of furniture at once while creating an interactive opportunity for guests to use iPad stands to scan through and get more information on each piece and the local artist that crafted it. It also creates an art gallery feel that ties in with the second story "art walk" custom tunnels. 

​

Spaces + Features Furniture showroom custom wall millwork casing, cafe + beverage bar, retail spaces, "art tunnels", private meeting rooms, cashier + information desk, and technological stations. 

​