Blu Dot (Missouri Street)
2021
The new Blu Dot showroom combines two existing concrete industrial buildings from the 1920s characterized by uneven window sizes, varying parapet elevations, and different floor levels. On the exterior, our facade design makes the window openings and parapet line consistent across the joined structures; on the interior, the wall between the two buildings was removed and the change in floor elevation is integrated into the showroom’s layout.
The goal of this transformation was to provide Blu Dot with an architectural expression consistent with its furniture design ethos, but at the same time one that would retain the longstanding industrial character of the district at the foot of Potrero Hill. The modified window openings are treated with a metal plate surround that showcases the displays; the parapet infill consists of board-formed concrete that is consistent with the existing buildings’ appearance but visually distinct.
The goal of this transformation was to provide Blu Dot with an architectural expression consistent with its furniture design ethos, but at the same time one that would retain the longstanding industrial character of the district at the foot of Potrero Hill. The modified window openings are treated with a metal plate surround that showcases the displays; the parapet infill consists of board-formed concrete that is consistent with the existing buildings’ appearance but visually distinct.
Status
Built
Client
Blu Dot
Size
12,500 SF
Location 99 Missouri Street, San Francisco
Press “Blu Dot Flagship in San Francisco Debuts, Designed by the Office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA with Brand's Leaders” PR Newswire, December 15, 2022
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The existing structures were in some ways deficient (no floor slab, for instance) and in other ways overbuilt: lateral bracing had been installed to support a much taller vertical addition that was never constructed. Our design opened up the space by removing some of these diagonal braces, and by integrating those that needed to remain into the interior design.
Collaboration is the hallmark of Blu Dot’s design thinking, and the transformation of the two buildings into a new showroom was a joint effort between our office and Blu Dot’s own designers. Starting from abandoned buildings with dirt floors and boarded-up windows, the design emerged as selective subtraction and addition of structural and architectural elements. Superfluous bracing and internal walls were removed to open up the interior, and a false façade at the corner (never completed) was removed. Window openings were enlarged to create a consistent exterior rhythm and to let in more light. The board-formed concrete parapet infill was added to provide a uniform horizontal cap. Steel window frames popping out of the façade like over-sized Tiffany windows were fashioned to be in concert with the scale of the industrial windows found on nearby buildings.
The interior design was approached much like a gallery – the space is treated as an armature in which to display art, or, in this case, Blu Dot’s product line. The floors are finished with quiet but elegant wood flooring or polished concrete. Interior fixtures are integrated with structural elements resulting in a simple, crisp interior setting. The interior envelope is painted white to function as background for the pieces on display. Plinths were built on the interior side of the pop-out windows so furniture could be displayed at eye level from the exterior.
Copyright: Office of Charles F. Bloszies, 2024