Denver Art Museum, Museum Shop
- Denver, CO
While an increase in sales was the primary motivation for the Denver Art
Museum's decision to fund a major relocation and redesign of their Denver Art
Museum Shop, there are many other conceptual subtleties that make this project
a fascinating study in high-end retail branding and design.
Retained by the Museum's board in June of 2008, Roth + Sheppard Architects and
a team of specialized consultants began an exhaustive study of the Shop's
potential repositioning catalyzed by a mandate to increase visibility and
identity, visitor traffic and overall sales. After analyzing the Shop's
existing status and location, alternative available space, entrance options,
visitor flow of arrival to the museum, and the natural movement of people
through this popular architectural gem designed by architect Daniel Libeskind,
Roth + Sheppard recommended that the Museum Shop be moved from the south end of
the Hamilton Building to public space adjacent to the Museum's existing
entrance/exit.
Today, the Museum Shop's new location and redesign have achieved the board's
critical goals by making it feel like a natural extension of the museum;
successfully maximizing the Hamilton Building's underutilized lobby; creating
an intuitive entryway to the new Clifford Still Museum [set to open in 2011
just west of the DAM]; accomplishing a subtle, yet functional interpretation of
Libeskind's design parti, "two lines dancing," within the new
retail space. Both traffic and sales have increased supporting our initial
recommendation of the shops relocation adjacent to the entry and egress path.
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"Much appreciation for the beautiful store you designed for the Denver
Art Museum. We were extremely impressed with how your sensitivity to the unique
nature of the building resulted in a truly integrated design that not only
meets the needs of the client, but takes this spectacular interior space to a
completely new level. We look forward to an opportunity to work with you
again."
- Nina and Daniel Libeskind, Studio Daniel Libeskind