The A+A Store: New Location and New Design

by Pia Panella
May 10, 2005

During the summer of 2004, the nonprofit Arts and Architecture student supply shop (A+A), moved from one room in Campbell Hall to another in order to accommodate upgrades in laser cutting equipment. The School took the opportunity to redesign the store, asking graduate architecture student Philip Donovan to take charge of the project. The design problem included a significant space challenge – the new space is only 1/3 the size of the previous store, and must accommodate the full breadth of merchandise including overstock items that were previously kept elsewhere.

The re-design includes several innovative solutions to issues of space, light, and noise. To maximize the use of the smaller space, Donovan and his fellow students on the design team created a standardized display cube with a variety of shelving options. The cubes are positioned along the perimeter of the retail space with the addition of a rolling display unit. The sales counter was made of a single piece of folded, laser cut steel with a cantilevered top to allow for a larger entrance.

The existing lighting consisted of a series of harsh florescent fixtures. In response, Donovan designed a floating ceiling composed of angular resin, colored Plexiglas, and folded metal screens that hang below the pre-existing fixtures. “I wanted the ceiling to be a light landscape that extended the use of florescent lighting beyond the utilitarian,” Donovan said.

Mechanical runs and ducting were exposed and incorporated into the final design. Donovan explained, “The strategy was to re-expose these elements as a functional layer of the school…I see the project as the insertion of ‘packages’ that play off the existing space.”

The redesigned store was greeted with curiosity, praise, and much discussion at the start of fall semester classes. For many, it was gratifying to see that this vital part of the student experience had been given a sense of place within the School. “The greatest outcome of this project were the discussions and questions it inspired,” said Donovan. “This is an architecture school, and design should be introduced to the functional and utilitarian spaces that are necessary for the efficiency of the institution.”