Studio Equator developed and designed a new store for Fountain Gate Dry Cleaners from scratch, keeping in line with Westfield’s guidelines for the new section for the centre, while meeting the client’s request for a simple yet strong brand proposition.
Because the new store was located within a shopping centre, the tenancy lease would only last for five years. It was therefore crucial to create a very strong design impact with minimal materials and costs.
Internally, the space was designed to be functional for the clients and their customers. Occupational health and safety procedures were a key priority, and an element the team had to consistently keep in mind.
Instead of building full floor-to-ceiling walls, Studio Equator decided to use coat hangars to complete the walls. This not only provided a feature wall inside the shopfront window, but also negated the need for other finishes and features that would be expensive, and labour- and process-intensive to manufacture and install.
The coat hangar walls are easily disassembled and can be relocated to different positions within the shop, or a new tenancy in the future. Rearranging the layout of the hangars transforms the walls so that a whole new look can be created.
INITIATIVES
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Coat hangars, sourced locally and assembled by a local tradesman, were built cheaply and sustainably
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The hangars on the feature wall are reusable, and can be reused for their original intended purpose – to hang clothes
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The concept and design of the store were inexpensive and sustainable solutions that would last to the end of the current lease, and potentially beyond without requiring a full re-fit
Images: Anne-Sophie Poirier
