Pink Dolphin - LD&A Magazine

PINK DOLPHIN

PINK DOLPHIN

Minimal Budget,

Maximum Impact Translating a business philosophy into a store design— on just $8 per sq ft

Pink Dolphin’s core business values can be seen in design elements throughout the Los Angeles store.

By Samantha Schwirck

A

t Pink Dolphin’s 900-sq ft flagship store in Los Angeles, every piece of clothing is oneof-a-kind. So too is the placement of each of

the ceiling’s 95,000 screws, which together create an overhead structure that emulates a rippling ocean wave—just one of the store’s many design components that mimic Pink Dolphin’s business philosophy.

Maintaining continuity between the company’s

values and the store’s interior was paramount for Abramson Teiger Architects (ATA) and lighting designers from Kaplan Gehring McCarroll Architectural Lighting (KGM), New York City, who received a 2014 IES NYC Section Lumen Award of Citation for the project. But conveying these notions within such a small space— Adding to the equation was the construction budget, which was not to exceed $120,000, with only $7,500 allocated for the lighting, which comes to just about $8 per sq ft. To top it off, the entire project was to be

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LD+A March 2015

Photos: Jim Bartsch

Pink Dolphin’s first retail location—was a difficult task.

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www.ies.org

March 2015 LD+A

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PINK DOLPHIN

PINK DOLPHIN plywood and 95,000 screws, the structure is meant to catch shoppers’ eyes and lure them inside. To create the ceiling, each screw was painted a metallic color and then individually attached to the plywood. “We wanted to create this undulating ceiling, and the clients were on board from day one, which allowed us to run with the idea,” Voigt says. “It was designed to have a slim fixture of some type sepa-

An undulating, metallic ceiling, composed of 95,000 individually placed screws and lighted by linear fluorescent pendants, emulates an ocean wave, as seen in the Pink Dolphin logo.

rating the panels, as we didn’t want to see cans or Merchandise sits in white nooks lined with LED strips to contrast surrounding black cabinetry.

other light sources impeding the wave.”

To illuminate the ceiling element, van Koolbergen opted for pendant-mounted T5 linear fluorescent fixtures, which were installed between the panels. The fixtures perfectly match the size of the panels and create a shimmering effect that also spreads light onto merchandise suspended on a central hanging rod below. “The fluorescent we didn’t want a huge light source separating the

structure when it is reflected off of a calm water’s

panels—so it worked out very nicely.”

surface,” van Koolbergen says. The reflective prop-

The second concept, “alertness,” can be found

erties of the floor also enhance ambient light levels, and mirrors placed throughout the store make the

The circumstances called for both pragmatism

within perimeter niches illuminated to focus the

space appear to be larger than it actually is.

Jessica Voigt, project designer at ATA, met Pink

and creativity. “We had to specify readily available

customer’s attention onto the products. The

The project scope did not allow for much ex-

Dolphin’s owners through mutual retail clients,

fixtures that were extremely cost effective within

bright white cubbies stand out against the store’s

perimentation with sources or new technologies,

which is how ATA ended up on board. “They ap-

a very short time frame,” he explains. “In addition,

dark cabinetry, and LED striplights at 3000K illu-

van Koolbergen says, but the three fixtures “all

proached us about doing their first flagship store

the fixtures had to ‘disappear’ within the architec-

minate each individual space. “When you look at

have considerable lamp lives, which translates to

in Los Angeles, and their brand helped us create

tural detailing so that the emphasis was on the

the store, you don’t see the typical ‘retail’ lighting—

long intervals between maintenance.” And all of

the general concept of water and waves, as well

space and the merchandise itself.”

downlights and wall washers highlighting the

the sources use limited wattage, which reduces

merchandise,” van Koolbergen explains. Instead,

Pink Dolphin’s monthly electric bill as well. 

same sense of ‘wow,’ which is much easier to achieve with big-budget, large-scale projects.”

as create a unique and clean retail space.” Van Koolbergen worked alongside Voigt, and ATA

LD+A March 2015

flects the ceiling—“much like the mirror effect of a

on the sales floor, where merchandise is displayed

completed in just two months, or, as Martin van Koolbergen, lighting designer and partner with KGM, jokes, “very quickly.”

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strip is stellar,” Voigt says. “It is only 1-in. thick—

MAKING WAVES

the strips create the illusion that the products are

architects Douglas Teiger and Trevor Abramson,

The architects approached the project by us-

to develop the construction and lighting docu-

ing Pink Dolphin’s founding vision—to create a

A floating drywall plane, hanging from the ceil-

ments simultaneously, which was particularly

clothing line where every piece is limited in pro-

ing next to the wave structure, creates another il-

important for the ceiling structure because it

duction—as their overall inspiration. Then, they

lusion. The plane looks like a separate, miniature

called for a specific fixture configuration that

homed in on the company’s logo, which was

ceiling and evokes the feeling of a “room within

would work with the millwork sizing.

designed to represent Pink Dolphin’s business

the store,” van Koolbergen says. Low-voltage

“The intriguing part of the project was that

ideologies. The symbol features a dolphin jump-

halogen accent lights—the third and final fixture

this was the first showroom space for this retailer

ing out of three ocean waves to signify three core

for the project—were recessed into the plane to

and they wanted the biggest ‘wow’ factor on an

values: chaos, alertness and calmness.

further accentuate hanging clothing.

suspended within a white expanse.

extremely limited budget,” van Koolbergen says.

“Chaos” is characterized by the aforementioned

Lastly, the idea of “calmness” can be seen in

“The challenge with small projects is to give that

ceiling. Constructed with 11 panels of fabricated

Pink Dolphin’s hand-painted resin floor, which re-

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www.ies.org

the DESIGNERs Martin van Koolbergen, IALD, Member IES (2014), is a partner at Kaplan Gehring McCarroll Architectural Lighting, with offices in El Segundo, CA, New York City and Shanghai.

Trevor Abramson, FAIA, NCARB, is design partner; Douglas Teiger, AIA, is managing partner; and Jessica Voigt is project designer at Abramson Teiger Architects, Los Angeles, CA.

fast facts •

•

•

The 900-sq ft store was illuminated on a $7,500 lighting budget.

95,000 painted screws were mounted on plywood panels to create the ceiling’s wave.

The design uses just three fixtures and source types, and is Title 24 compliant.

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