When REI opened its new prototype store in Boulder, Colo., in October 2007, the goal was to create a store that embodies the outdoor gear retailer’s values—community involvement, environmental stewardship, and a commitment to serve as a gateway to the outdoors.

“REI challenged us to raise the bar in terms of how their store and brand experience could better serve the community and the environment,” says Ted Jacobs, design director of Gensler. No stranger to sustainable design, Gensler worked closely with REI executives for two years to research and identify products appropriate to a new generation of greener stores—everything from lightweight panels on the store’s exterior, which reduce the amount of steel required, to a wide range of technologies employed to conserve power, water, lighting, and heating.

Click images to enlarge

Building Green by Design
Highly reflective cylindrical Solatubes channel daylight from the roof throughout the store, saving the retailer 20 percent in energy costs. And in a first for retail, a centrally located skylight with integrated solar cells lets in sunlight while capturing its energy to help power the store through BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) technology. Sensors regulate light levels and fresh air circulation within the space.

Floors, perimeter walls, fixtures, displays, benches, and tabletops are made from materials such as bamboo, recycled rubber, and cork.

Sustainable Fixtures
Leggett & Platt’s L&P Studio division provided design development options on fixturing based on Gensler’s conceptual designs. Leggett’s Store Fixtures Group manufactured wall units, freestanding gondolas, specialty fixtures, and glass showcases. To help REI obtain LEED Silver certification, Leggett provided extensive documentation on the percentage of each material used in the fixtures. Fixtures were made from pressed bamboo sheets, a rapidly renewable resource, and steel. Finishes are waterborne and low-VOC.

Much of the metal in the store was supplied by Reeve Store Equipment Co. Reeve provided the signholders, graphic frames, fitting rooms, and other metal components. “All of these were finished in a clear powdercoat, which is much more environmentally sensitive and sound than most plated finishes like chrome,” says Robert Reeve Frackelton, Reeve vice president.

A Green Laboratory
The store serves as a working laboratory to analyze the performance of green building features and new retail concepts. And as a LEED Silver store under the pilot LEED for Retail-CI program, the project is helping the U.S. Green Building Council develop standards for retail environments. The project is also a recipient of an Outstanding Merit award in A.R.E.’s 2008 Design Awards and received special recognition from the judges for green awareness.

Says Dean Iwata, REI’s director of store development, “REI’s Boulder store builds on our more than 10 years of green building experience and helps us test concepts that will pave the way for how our stores are built in the future, including design, material selections, and use of technology.”

Plans call for a larger store on this model to be built in Round Rock, Texas, later in 2008. The retailer plans to integrate many innovative green features from the Boulder store in the company’s Bedford, Pa., distribution center and other locations.