Firm： Valerio Dewalt Train
Type： Commercial › Showroom
STATUS： Built
YEAR： 2018
SIZE： 5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft
BUDGET： Undisclosed
Fortune Brands Global Plumbing Group sought a presence in Chicago’s iconic Merchandise Mart that would house two of their most prized brands: Moen and House of Rohl. While Fortune required a united multi-functional space for employees, the public face required the appearance of two distinctly separate brands and product lines. Through an immersive and collaborative process, the team worked alongside stakeholders from each brand to identify several key attributes to create two holistic, unique, and distinctive experiences.
The Moen showroom is based on an inspirational story, focused on the “beauty of water” and technological innovation. Visitors are greeted with abstract digital projections that activate ripples with in-coming foot traffic. Long, curvilinear troughs are lined with fully functional fixtures that allow customers to freely interact with the faucets. The showroom is an experience grounded in the enduring, innovative, and technically astute aspects of the products, while simultaneously featuring the art and science behind the brand.
The House of Rohl embraces the overarching story behind the highly handcrafted process and provenance of each brand. To showcase this opulent variety, the showroom was conceptualized as a boutique jewel box, focused on the idea of exploration, forged craft, and intense beauty. Visitors are greeted by an engraved, dark granite storefront with polished brass blade signs, and drawn in with a curvilinear chassis of powder-coated aluminum that supports a grid of boxes housing the plumbing fixtures on display. Panels housed within the framework use artistic photography and descriptive narratives to tell each sub-brand’s story, providing visitors with a museum-like experience.
Moen and House of Rohl share a concealed back of house, meant to provide a centralized location for Fortune employees. Within public view, the showrooms are separate, only revealing a hint of connection between the brands through a pivot door embedded in a shared wall.
Credits:
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Lead Design Architect - Jim Wild
- J.C. Anderson, Inc. - General Contractor
- Next/Now - Digital Designer (Moen)
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Architect - Pam Crowel
- Tom Harris Photography - Photographer - Tom Harris
- Media-Objectives - Principal - Joe Lawton
- Media-Objectives - Designer - Amanda Davidson
- Media-Objectives - Strategist/Designer - Marissa Betley
- CBRE - Project Manager - Heidi McClenahan
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Interior Designer - Emily Phillips
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Architect - Alex Raynor
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Architect - Rebecca Kirova
- Valerio Dewalt Train - Architect - Nina Cackovic
- IMEG Corp - MEP
- Pease Borst & Associates - Structural
- Hugh Lighting Design - Lighting Designer
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