For a new lab store featuring multiple brands, the challenge was to provide a design concept that was authentic to a lifestyle of skateboarding, surfing, music and art. This store was conceived as a space designed for and by kids; a safe place to hang out, a place to be inspired by-and to give inspiration to-those in the boarding and surfing culture. Found objects, industrial materials, and re-used items such as wooden palettes, garden hose and moving blankets are incorporated into the design, giving a spontaneous ad-hoc quality to the space. The design of the store blurs the line between being served and server: The formal delineation between the salesperson and the shopper dissolves- the person running the store may be a friend or another trusted source for music, art, or clothes. The concept’s strength lies in the flexibility of the space to adapt, alter, and evolve through the input of the client, the architect, the merchandisers, the artists, the salespeople and the customers.
The lab store occupies an old light industry warehouse with a new sky-lit wood shaft piercing through the roof. A garage door defines the entry, dissolving the typical storefront and providing a canopy when open. Plywood boards slide on rails on the building exterior to provide surfaces for “wild” postings. When filled, the boards move inside to a perimeter rail, acting as artwork and surfaces for new postings related to the clothing. The hose wall symbolically evokes the suburban roots of the skateboarders and, metaphorically, the water roots of the surfers :its pattern represents the wave pattern in Huntington Beach. Each hose represents one day at 6am. The wave height determines the hose color and the wave period determines the hose length. Black and dark greens represent the shallow waves, orange represents the deep waves. Perimeter shelving of found wooden pallets has been sandblasted and clear-coated. Salvaged fluorescent light reflectors were refitted and ganged to create floating ceilings, defining intimate spaces within the open space.
