Garmin International Flagship Store

Honor Award

  • Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
  • Garmin International
  • Consultants Arup (Structural Engineering); Lighting Design Alliance (Lighting)
  • Division Commercial
  • Location Chicago, IL
  • General contractor Turner Construction Co.

Photos

(Click each for a larger version)

Garmin International Flagship Store photo #1
Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing
Garmin International Flagship Store photo #2
Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing
Garmin International Flagship Store photo #3
Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

Overview

Garmin makes GPS devices that help people figure out where they are in a big, ambiguous world. The store in which they're sold is ambiguous by design: does it resemble a rocky canyon, a streamlined car fender, or the thick hull of a ship? Clarity is found in the glass and metal spaces where Garmin's devices are on display—thus making the product's function the theme of the store's look and layout. Jurors were smitten, saying the architects "took the concept of the company and created an architectural metaphor that isn't literal."