PROJECT STORY
The project's scope was to engineer, fabricate, and install two feature wall treatments in the new Holt Renfrew store at Square One in Mississauga. Located in Canada's second-largest shopping centre, Holt Renfrew is Canada’s leading luxury shopping retailer and is currently celebrating a 185-year heritage.

At the main store entrance, the feature wall spans 49’ wide by 27’ tall and consists of two mirrored sections on either side of the leather goods entrance opening. At the stairs leading to the VIP lounge, a similar feature wall was built at 29’ tall by 28’ long for a total area of 2,500 square feet. Both walls were built of sections of two-inch diameter aluminium tubes with aluminium plate frames, structurally supported by three 1/2 inch diameter tubes, which carried the load down to the ground and tied back into the base building. These were fabricated, pre-assembled in sections and powder-coated. The sections were engineered to allow for ease of installation and removal for maintenance of the interior lighting. Eight display cases 8’ high by 30” wide were incorporated into the main entrance wall, with tempered glass fronts, floating, cantilevered acrylic shelves, mirror-polished chrome plates, and light poles. Their interiors were lined with faux suede and a custom-stained white oak veneer.

Working in collaboration with New York-based architecture and design firm Janson Goldstein LLP early on in the project allowed for value-engineered solutions for their walls while maintaining the aesthetic and integrity of the design. The challenge was to maintain the perfect alignment of the hundreds of vertical tubes and to build a feature that maintained the design aesthetic and flow. Site measurements were crucial to translating the site conditions to our digital fabrication team for the custom CNC-cut parts.

To help coordinate with the various trades a CNC cut six-inch tall curb base for the entrance wall was built. This was used as a template for the drywall installers to ensure the metal wall sections fit with ease. This also created a level surface to allow each of the nearly 200 vertical tubes to be perfectly plumb in this large engineered structural wall.

Engineering and building the tubular elements in manageable, CNC-cut sections allowed for a smooth and successful installation. The custom paint finish of the feature walls maintained the clean aesthetic of the elegant, neutral colour palette, providing the retailer with a focus on luxury products.