Lakeview Appliance Distributors Inc. - Commercial Showroom

Project Description

Lakeview Dist. Inc is the Midwest Sales and Distribution Center for the Viking Range Corporation and AGA Range Appliance. Lakeview sought to create the flagship Midwest headquarters and warehouse in suburban Chicago, Illinois with two satellite showrooms in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin and suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The design for the Chicago office included corporate office space, warehouse space, a Showroom of multiple vignettes with a state-of-the-art demonstration training facility for industry specialists and homeowners alike. The Milwaukee and Minneapolis locations were to include Showroom space, a demonstration and training facility and local office space. The Showrooms were to showcase the appliances in settings in which they would be functionally and aesthetically utilized. The Demonstrations Areas were designed for education, training and “hands-on”, practical purposes, accommodating up to 40 persons.

All three showrooms were treated as “offspring” of one another. Common architectural elements and common materials were used to close the geographical gap of the three locations. Corrugated aluminum and natural maple wood panels, which are the material vocabulary of Viking Range Corporation Headquarters, are a characteristic of the Chicago location and are used to enhance the branding. At the Milwaukee site, “feature” appliances are recessed into a bent maple wall. The Minnesota site has a Children’s Playroom set into a turret wrapped in corrugated aluminum, perforated by small openings. In each showroom, display areas demonstrate the uses and possibilities of the products in both traditional and modern settings.

Services Provided

Architectural Services