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Client:

Channel Island Surfboards

Project: Retail Surfboard Shop

Location: Downtown Seattle, SKB Architects Bldg

Address: 2333 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

Concept: Break

Inspiration:

As a wave crests it is called a “break.” The force of the water rushing toward the shore is met with resistance as the ocean depth quickly becomes shallower, rapidly slowing the approaching water. This sudden change in momentum reaches a breaking point. As the speeding ocean water pushes over the slower, shallower water, water is pushed upward creating beautiful waves that surfers can enjoy while atop a board. The surfer paddles out toward the wave, rises up onto the board to a standing position, at the top, just before the break, then rides the wave and enjoys a clear vantage point from the forward side of the wave. From this position, the surfer in a sense “breaks” over and through.

Design Intent:

This design explores breaking over and breaking through. When riding a wave, the board and rider sit out over the face of the wave and ride atop it. In this way both the wave and the surfer are breaking over. One breaks over the other and vice versa. Additionally, the wave rolls over, crashes down, and creates a pipe, approaching the shore at an angle. This pipe gives the surfer a sort of tunnel to ride through. The surfer breaks through the rolling,crashing wave, coming out the other end of the pipe.

My intent is to create a customer experience within this retail store that mimics these experiences of the surfer. The spaces themselves will break through and break over. This will create views, intersections, angles and cantilevers. Then, the path of circulations and wall construction will take the customer on a journey that resembles the surfing experience.

Process:

Many iterations of models were made in the conceptual process. Here are a couple of examples:

  

Completed Design:

The customer experience will begin at the entrance, where they are facing a main floor (as if standing on the shore facing the ocean) with a 2nd level breaking out toward them (looking at the waves crashing in). As the surfer must paddle out to reach the wave, so the customer travels to the rear of the store to ascend the stairs (or elevator). The view from the stairs  is open and the second floor is also open, through floor to ceiling glass from the stairs to the lounge that itself breaks out over the main floor. The customer is met at the entrance with the entire face of the 2nd floor lounge, which is clad with long panels of blue acrylic that incrementally rise and break out away from the wall until the very top one finally breaks through the front of the store out over the entrance as if to invite customers in.