Art Deco Garage
Project Overview
The goal of this project was to create an authentic replication of a 1930s art deco style building lobby within the confines of an existing 3 bay garage. The client wanted to hide the original box shape of the existing garage, and give the illusion of a tall, geometrically unique space. In order to do this, we had to first design elements that would give the effect of looking up a multistory lobby area, even though the height of the garage roof was only twelve feet. To achieve this, we designed large, art deco style columns for each corner, making the user feel as though he was in a much taller space. Each column is painted to resemble stressed materials, such as patina copper, antique brass, and oil rubbed bronze, all culminating to a peak at the roof line. Small, back lit translucent acrylic shapes were added at the top of each column for additional effect lighting. From each column, we sprang 4 nickel plated arches from each corner which terminated into a custom art deco lamp, complete with antique glass, chrome, brass, and bronze finishes. The surround pieces at each door (the sliding door, and the single door) were inspired by the type of surrounds one would find at great art deco skyscrapers in New York City, such as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, or in LA, The Eastern Building. Typically, these door ways were bold statements that spoke to the size and power of the building, and to the companies that were housed within. Therefore, I decided to remove the original doors (the sliding door being of typical glass, and the single door having only one window) and replace them with heavy looking, ornate nickel and chrome plated doors, to add a sense of security, and to further remover the user from the outside world, and reinforcing the idea of being in the lobby of a skyscraper. The floor is a combination of metal plating and epoxy flooring, design to mimic the floor art typically found in such structures. The window covers toward the back of the garage add further vertical elements, and are tinted with an aqua blue shade to, again, remove the user from the outside world, and to match the aqua blue accents lights throughout the rest of the space. This garage is slated for construction later this year.
