Norwalk Furniture initially specialized in furniture repair. This gave the company increased insight into quality furniture construction. With a century long history of producing quality furniture, this national company wished to build a prototypical showroom that would not only speak to its history but would also tell the story of its unique approach to custom furniture. An interior structure was built to tell the story. This structure displays hundreds of fabrics and references wood frames available to the customer for selection. The selection process, also aided by computer visualization, is made easier by showroom salesperson's and the customer's use of the structure.

As a prototypical design, the structure is flexible enough to adapt to any one of the more than a hundred leased Norwalk spaces throughout the country. The building shells are different sizes varying in overall width and length. With an adjustable "S" curve geometry, the structure has the adaptability to act as a long, flowing curtain through any building shell. Overlaying arcs of lighting establish places along the ends of the "S" curve without terminating the scheme. The floor on which the structure rests is incised with a grid to act as a stabilizing counterpoint to the structure's continuous curve.

The showroom structure is inspired by the complementary union of handcrafting and manufacturing found in the construction process of the furniture. The materials in the manufacturing tools and machinery as well as the raw materials being transformed into the furniture are the materials used for the structure itself. All materials are left unfinished to express their directness and honesty. A canopy is formed with fiber-reinforced acrylic sheets referring to the plastic templates used as patterns to cut upholstery fabric. The new structure introduces an intermediary height into the showroom bringing together the scale of the furniture and the scale of the building shell. Overall, the prototype helps customers envision the possibilities for their custom furniture as well as express the quality of the materials and processes used in its realization.

Square footage: 5,400