Converse Retail Stores

LOCATION: New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and garden State NJ
Area: 5,000 sf - 15,000 sf
STATUS: Opened 2011 - 2014

We designed a new brand language for Converse retail starting with their Soho site. We worked closely with the retail and brand teams to develop a material palette that reflects the brand’s identity, and then   employed and adapted these materials across the country. Materials typically used behind-the-scenes are put forth in unexpected ways to support the brand's iconoclast image -- unfinished galvanized doors, cement board ceiling panels, painted pine factory flooring. At the largest store, the San Francisco location, we created a large new circular opening between the floors, with a sinuous blackened steel and wood stair that serves as a focal point and helps resolve the competing geometries of the irregularly shaped existing space while inviting patrons to explore upstairs. The New York location was designed and constructed in a very short timetable, including coordination with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on exterior signage and window work.  

Client: CONVERSE 
ARCHITECT: JENNIFER CARPENTER (PRINCIPAL) 
ARCHITECT TEAM:  JOE SEAMAN, INGA NIELSEN, MARISA FONTAINE, SEAN REAGIN 
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: PETER ERDELYI & ASSOCIATES (SANTA MONICA, NJ) 
LIGHTING DESIGN: ORSMAN LIGHTING DESIGN (NY, SANTA MONICA, NJ)  
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: KSP CONSULTING ENGINEERS (NJ) 
MEP ENGINEER: THOMAS POLISE CE (NY), HIRSCH ENGINEERING (CA, NJ) 
CONTRACTOR: MCGOVERN AND CO (NY), TIMBERWOLFF (OTHERS)