Retail Design
A big part of our story, and our passion, is Retail Design. A specialized and multi-dimensional design discipline, it combines architecture, space planning, brand design, business fundamentals, and more into a total consumer experience.
Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to collaborate with new and growing brands (Schoolhouse), established brands in expansion (Ann Sacks), local independents (Beaumont Vision, Sole) and global brands that are continually innovating and scaling (Nike), among others.
Retail Case Study: Schoolhouse
Nathan Roelofs, founder of Centraal Projects, was responsible for the design of the first Schoolhouse showroom in Portland, which opened in 2003 (and known at the time as Schoolhouse Electric Co.). Working with Schoolhouse founder Brian Faherty, Nathan co-developed the look and feel of the shop, created the store layout, designed the display fixtures, and fabricated the displays as well as the cash desk / service counter. This was a retail concept created in real time and it established the voice of the brand in terms of physical in-store experience.
This concept was later directly applied to the Schoolhouse showroom in Tribeca, NYC in 2005, also designed by Nathan. Together, the original Portland and Tribeca projects laid the foundation for the physical experience for this amazing brand, with many details, fixtures, and elements carried through to even larger subsequent locations in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Portland, Ore.
Retail Case Study: Nike
During his 15 years working with Nike, Centraal Projects founder Nathan Roelofs developed a deep expertise for all aspects of Retail Design, Development, and Construction.
With roles as varied as Construction Manager, Project Manager, Design Director, and ultimately Head of Retail Design Operations, Nathan has touched every piece of the end-to-end development process for this iconic global brand. Through extensive experience in concept development as well as scaling, Nathan understands and wields the nuance of one-off executions and those built for scale, and has managed the extension of bespoke retail concepts into globally-scaled retail programs.
Nathan has worked around the world for Nike, with positions held in Nike Global, North America, Asia Pacific / Latin America, and Europe.
The images above represent a small sample of projects executed by Nathan, his team, and his fellow collaborators at Nike.