SVPER ORDINARY
Provided: Architecture + General Contracting
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: October 2013
In this gallery and retail concept, Tres Birds was approached by a group of Denver creative entrepreneurs to help establish their place as a premier art and design destination.
Set inside The Source, an open air market that concentrates small food and specialty vendors into one location, SVPER ORDINARY is the main provider of art, design and home goods. The DIY-oriented group was willing to contribute the sweat equity, but needed a design plan to guide them. In an exceptional case involving friendship and the right mix of factors, Tres Birds produced the design and then supported the client throughout the hands-on building process.
Tres Birds began by looking at the context of the building itself. The Source is located in an old foundry building that was once used to repair locomotives. In similar era buildings, wooden racks were used for warehousing. With the advent of fire safety and code, tons of this wood material was subsequently displaced. Repurposing this wood material and connecting it with the building’s history in coal-firing industry, Tres Birds presented the idea of using burnt wood (inspired by traditional Japanese process called shou sugi ban) in the retail section to create texture and contrast to the stark white gallery walls. Once the construction phase commenced, the client was set up at Tres Birds to burn each piece of wood by hand and later install it themselves.
Working with the building’s natural light assets, the back of the space is designated as the gallery area, where white walls reflect incoming sunlight throughout the rest of the space. The entrance of the space represents the retail designation, where 1 ton of burnt wood make up the wall system, including integrated shelving units. LED lighting is hidden from view within the shelving to illuminate product displays.
SVPER ORDINARY was designed as an experience and a journey into highly considered art and design objects. Custom metal cases built by Tres Birds store additional possibilities of what is displayed, requiring a level of interaction to take place with the knowledgeable business owners-- they hold the key to unlocking a world of art and design objects from near and far.
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: October 2013
In this gallery and retail concept, Tres Birds was approached by a group of Denver creative entrepreneurs to help establish their place as a premier art and design destination.
Set inside The Source, an open air market that concentrates small food and specialty vendors into one location, SVPER ORDINARY is the main provider of art, design and home goods. The DIY-oriented group was willing to contribute the sweat equity, but needed a design plan to guide them. In an exceptional case involving friendship and the right mix of factors, Tres Birds produced the design and then supported the client throughout the hands-on building process.
Tres Birds began by looking at the context of the building itself. The Source is located in an old foundry building that was once used to repair locomotives. In similar era buildings, wooden racks were used for warehousing. With the advent of fire safety and code, tons of this wood material was subsequently displaced. Repurposing this wood material and connecting it with the building’s history in coal-firing industry, Tres Birds presented the idea of using burnt wood (inspired by traditional Japanese process called shou sugi ban) in the retail section to create texture and contrast to the stark white gallery walls. Once the construction phase commenced, the client was set up at Tres Birds to burn each piece of wood by hand and later install it themselves.
Working with the building’s natural light assets, the back of the space is designated as the gallery area, where white walls reflect incoming sunlight throughout the rest of the space. The entrance of the space represents the retail designation, where 1 ton of burnt wood make up the wall system, including integrated shelving units. LED lighting is hidden from view within the shelving to illuminate product displays.
SVPER ORDINARY was designed as an experience and a journey into highly considered art and design objects. Custom metal cases built by Tres Birds store additional possibilities of what is displayed, requiring a level of interaction to take place with the knowledgeable business owners-- they hold the key to unlocking a world of art and design objects from near and far.
