Commercial Construction: Specialized

This commercial construction project began when Specialized reached out to us about a new demo center they wanted to create here in Squamish. 

They knew that they wanted it to speak to what makes Squamish and the coast so special and also showcase their bikes and the quality they are known for. We had several meetings with their team to discuss what they required for the space to operate properly and what they had in mind for the overall aesthetic. 

This is where things got exciting.

They said they wanted to incorporate lots of wood features into the space, but they also wanted to have some sort of design feature that would stand out and be very memorable. Our in-house design team was given complete freedom to come up with some ideas that “spoke to Squamish and the Sea to Sky.” 

The feature wall was the idea of Erin, one of our in-house designers. She came up with the idea to take the topography of the Tantalus range and re-create it out of ¾” birch ply slats. 

We came up with a way to make it look as though it was floating on the wall and pitched it to the Specialized team. And that is exactly how this stunning feature wall came to fruition!

Beyond the feature wall, we would like to point out that all of the elements in this project were designed and built by the Blue Water Concepts team.

We set up a full millwork shop in the space to allow our carpenters to build all the elements on the project right on-site. 

Some interesting elements of the project to note:

• The black corrugated metal room in the back is the “Fit Studio.” It’s built to professionally fit people for bikes.
• The Tantalus range fin wall is the topography of the Tantalus mountain range scaled-down and cnc’d out of ¾” plywood sheets which are spaced 5” apart.
• The Fir mezzanine guard is built to act as a railing and give privacy to the upper mezzanine space.
• The bike stands are all custom metal stands designed by us and welded by Sea to Sky Welding. We hand-selected the wood elements to go in these bike stands.
• The staff bike display is a wall unit designed by our team and built with the help of Leon Lebeniste to display the Specialized Staff’s bikes.
• All millwork in the kitchen and coffee bar was designed and built by our team on-site.
• It was important to both Specialized and Blue Water Concepts that we use as many local companies as possible. 

Coordination between the team at Specialized and our team at Blue Water was quick and easy throughout the entire design and build process. They were based in Montreal and everything was done online as so many of us have grown accustomed to over the past year and a bit. 

This is a project that everyone that was involved is quite proud of. We had a very ambitious schedule and everyone came together to make it happen.

If you’re looking for a commercial construction design, new build, or renovation, get in touch with us today.