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 Custom
fixtures are the hallmark of the main floor of Holt
Renfrew’s flagship store in Toronto’s Yorkville
shopping district. The main floor was renovated in 2003
as the final phase of a several-year, $33 million makeover
for the upscale department store. The luxury statement
achieved by the award-winning ground-floor design relies
heavily upon fixtures that uniquely express the retailer’s
prestigious image. So it should come as no surprise
that Toronto-based design firm burdifilek turned to
an expert in custom fixture manufacturing to execute
its vision.
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Unique Store Fixtures concentrates solely on custom
fixtures for retail and office environments, marrying
traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology
in its 60,000-plus-sq.-ft. production facility in Concord,
Ont. The manufacturer’s specialized capabilities
and 21-year expertise in the creation of one-of-a-kind
fixtures rendered the design a reality. To those to
whom the unusual is routine, problem-solving is a way
of life, so Unique’s team met the challenges of
this project with its customary can-do attitude.
“Since everything we do is unique—no pun
intended, every project is challenging, and we’re
used to addressing whatever issues come up,” said
Unique Store Fixtures’ Chris French. (The outside-the-box
thinkers in this firm refuse to be restricted by job
titles.) “For this Holt Renfrew project, challenges
included incorporating new lighting technology into
jewelry showcases, management and political issues with
cosmetics vendors, the massive size and weight of some
fixtures, and the procurement of rare veneer pieces.”
The 2003 renovation encompassed Holt Renfrew’s
fine jewelry, cosmetics, accessories, and men’s
apparel departments.
Luxury Defined
From its roots as a
Quebec City hat shop, Holt Renfrew has evolved over
the past 167 years to encompass nine specialty stores
known internationally for high-profile brand merchandise,
haute couture offerings from innovative designers, and
selection of fine furs. Burdifilek was charged with
portraying the retailer’s persona with the makeover,
part of a relaunch into the international market. “We
created a sophisticated architectural language using
refined forms,” said Paul Filek, managing partner
of burdifilek. “Embracing exotic woods, a sensitive
color palette, and custom artwork and finishes, the
design team created a unique sensory experience that
is distinctly Holt Renfrew’s.” The team
unified the floor’s former potpourri of retail
environments under a consistent umbrella design. Individual
departments are compartmentalized with sensitive design
details.
Oversized pieces that break up space and create intimacy
without producing a claustrophobic feel required careful
planning. Even though mammoth structures were shipped
broken down and assembled on-site, their sheer size
and weight—nearly 16 ft. high and 500 to 600 lb.
in some cases—meant special handling.
Harmonious Diversity
The cosmetics department owes its balance between department-wide
uniformity and vendor-shop individuality to a standard
palette. All 18 cosmetics vendor bays were held to the
same colors and materials with consistent finishes,
textures, and customized millwork, but they distinguished
themselves via differing fixture designs and layouts—a
rectilinear appearance vs. large, sweeping curves, for
instance, French explained. While burdifilek ensured
vendor compliance with the department’s design
criteria, the process meant numerous communications
between Unique Store Fixtures and the various parties
involved. The manufacturer also was charged with maintaining
the department’s harmonious feel while incorporating
into the fixtures each vendor’s distinguishing
features. An aquarium was built into one, a vending
machine in another, etc.
The Ideal Backdrop
In the fine jewelry department, the fixture grouping
earned a Fixture Award in NASFM’s 2004 competition.
Drawing wows from the judges was a sense of theater
created by the suspended 11-ft.-diameter fixture of
4,500 laser-cut and hand-assembled brass mesh flowers
that stands out against the muted tones and sleek, sophisticated
lines of the surrounding fixtures.
The gilded bouquet hovers over the department’s
main showcase, an immense circular expanse exhibiting,
under starfire glass, exquisite jewelry collections
illuminated by fiberoptic lighting fed through the structure’s
slender, 3-ft.- 4-in.-high legs. The 22-ft.-diameter
museum base of cerused oak is hand-finished in a light
gray to resemble birch bark. Unique Store Fixtures worked
with specialty finishing contractor Moss and Lam of
Toronto to ensure that perimeter walls and fixtures
sport similar rich finishes.
Exotic Materials
Thank goodness for the long lead time on this project.
It was certainly needed to fulfill burdifilek’s
vision in the men’s apparel department, where
exotic material needs necessitated diligent sourcing,
French recalled. “We used a large quantity of
Macassar ebony veneer, which in and of itself is a precious
commodity, not so readily available. Add to that the
stringent selection criteria that required 12- and 13-ft.
lengths of veneer, and procurement was quite a challenge,”
he said.
 With
an average height of 50 feet, Macassar ebony trees are
considered short, making veneers rare. The drying process
is long and tedious for this heavy, dense, hard wood
used in billiard cues, walking sticks, and musical instruments
such as piano keys as well as for decorative applications.
Hailing from the East Indies, Macassar ebony (whose
scientific name roughly means “fruit of the gods”)
is highly prized for its contrasting bands of color,
fine texture, and excellent finishing properties.
Also prominent in the menswear area is Brazilian imbuya
wood, 5-in.-thick clear acrylic, antique bronze, and
limestone, with the Macassar showing up again in the
lounge/fitting area paneling.
Feminine Appeal
The soft accessories department boasts a feminine atmosphere,
using rosewood, skin tones, chocolate glass, and a transitional
wall color evocative of a luxury lifestyle. Unique Store
Fixtures’ expertise with custom work is again
evident in the Evening Handbag Wall, which won a Fixture
Award on its own merit.
Differentiating ultra-luxurious evening handbags from
everyday purses by featuring them as sculptural pieces
of art, the Evening Handbag Wall is a prominent feature
of the department, measuring 24 ft., 2 in. long and
7 ft. high. A hand-painted cherry tree mural framed
in antique bronze is pressed behind opal star-fire glass
to diffuse the image. The handbags are hung on custom
bases secured by invisible joints. Lit by an MR-16 lighting
system, the fixture maintains a sense of airiness while
being securely engineered.
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,
Concord, ON, Canada
