The owners of this outdoor furniture company wanted to open a showroom in Coral Gables, Florida, their first location in the USA.
The site, formerly occupied by Biscayne Cafeteria, was a place of legendary food for many years. It’s location, in the middle of a block, in the middle of Miracle Mile (a six block long collection of storefronts, retail shops and restaurants), makes up the heart of Coral Gables.
Coral Gables is a city that proffers “Mediterranean Architecture” as the preferred style of “dress” for all buildings. To encourage such response, it rewards those who “dress” architecture in Mediterranean ornamentation, with bigger and taller buildings (more F.A.R., more height, etc…).
The Kettal design solution is one that celebrates the objects on display. The simplicity of the design is one that says, “Come in and visit,” giving the solution its strength.
The transparency of the façade highlights the products on display. Its glass skin is only for containment of air conditioning, allowing light to wash the interior while maximizing the limited street “front” exposure to the outdoor furniture.
The large, open showroom plan is gently articulated into three main areas, a response to the company’s three major furniture lines. Tilted walls and sloping ceilings towards “skylights” accentuate the “outdoor” qualities of the furniture displays; further define the space, while allowing maximum flexibility in display opportunities.
In the heart of “Historic” Coral Gables, the building of such a modern, functional, straightforward design may itself become history.
For now, the Kettal Showroom stands, among an unmemorable collection of retail storefronts, as a bold testament to the tenets of a vital and viable, modern tradition.
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