Location: seattle, wa, usa
Status: completed 2015
Budget: private
Project team: Jon Gentry AIA, Aimée O'Carroll ARB

Credits
Contractor: Dolan Built
Engineer: J Welch Engineering, Josh Welch PE
Kinetic Engineer: Jeremy Kramp K|B
Lighting: Kathy Justin
Graphic Design: Turnstyle
Photographer: Kevin Scott
Owner: Oiselle

Oiselle is a well established Seattle company with a close knit community of dedicated athletes. The project brief proposed an interesting challenge; how to create a small but flexible flagship store that would simultaneously accommodate a seasonally changing selection of apparel and accessories as well as becoming a ‘club house’ of sorts for Oiselle's running community. The space needed to welcome running meets, marathon watch parties, and athlete signings while still functioning as a retail store.

The solution came by way of four major design elements - the Theatre Fly, the Haberdashery desk, the Plinko Wall, and the Hero Wall. These elements would seamlessly work together to transform the existing shell into a multi-functional space. The North, East, and South walls are materially tied together with a maple plywood, both as a wall finish, cabinetry, and custom display wall system (Plinko Wall). 

The Theatre Fly is the main mechanism by which the store transforms to host large gatherings. The Theatre Fly suspends hanging display racks from a frame mounted to the existing steel beams within the space. When hosting events, the racks are able to be winched up to the ceiling to allow for a completely open plan below. The racks are elevated using a simple manual winch mounted to the Hero Wall. 

The Haberdashery desk is designed with several sliders and drawers which can be opened to display various accessories for sale. When not in use the desk closes up and rolls back into the cabinetry which lines the North wall. The North wall cabinetry creates retail display and storage for backstock as well as a staff closet. A small sink and faucet is provided for thirsty runners to refill their water bottles before or after a run. 

The Plinko Wall is a custom wall finish which runs along the South and East walls. The wall surfaces is CNC plywood, with 1/2” holes at 8” on center, forming a flexible grid from which different arrangements of custom shelves and hanging rails can be installed. Tee nuts are concealed behind each hole allowing endless variation to the layout of the display.

The Hero Wall is a visual backdrop for the store. A large scale mural featuring one of Oiselle’s professional athletes is fully revealed when the hanging racks are elevated during events. The Hero Wall will be changed to reflect the brands seasonal focus allowing the store to evolve inline with the brand over the years.