The drugstore chain Walgreens isn’t exactly known for innovative store design. But the Illinois-based retailer may not be getting its just due for its willingness to alter its standard format to respect history.
For example, its flagship store in Chicago is an adaptive reuse of the Noel State Bank Building in that city’s Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood. The two-year restoration retained much of the bank’s neoclassical style, including the exterior’s ornamental terra cotta, large windows divided by rising pilasters topped with Corinthian capitals, and a prominent cornice that wraps around the corner of the building.
The restoration also features abundant nonsymmetrical hexagons that frame griffins and other ornate designs. And at the center of the building is a large stained-glass window with a six-point star design.
When Walgreens was planning its 15th flagship, located in Honolulu, the company envisioned a store that would be sensitive to the host culture and conveyed a sense of place.
The flagship would be built at the corner of one of Honolulu’s busiest intersections and near one of the nation’s top-grossing shopping centers. This area was once wetlands where fishermen and canoe builders toiled. So Architects Hawaii Ltd., the project’s lead design firm, suggested “as a starting point,” that the Walgreens flagship resemble a canoe “hale,” or house where the ships were built, says Lester Ng, the firm’s lead architect. That design would also exhibit the concept of “akupua’a,” meaning sustainability.
The ground floor of this two-story, 35,576-sf building reflects the colors and wave patterns of the ocean. The ceiling pattern depicts a modern interpretation of fishing nets.
Ng says his firm worked with the project’s mechanical and plumbing engineer, Inatsuka Engineering, to design a building with metal walls and sharp angles that form long sides, which work with sun shading that covers 60% of the high-performing glass curtain wall area in the front and sides of the store.
The neighborhood was enthused about getting a high profile retail tenant on an underused and poorly lighted corner. “The only negative comments we heard was that the local KFC would have to be closed,” says Ng.
Walgreens operates 18 stores in Hawaii, and this flagship, known as Walgrees Ke’eaumoku, replaces an 11,000-sf store that had 20 employees and eight parking spaces. The new store, which was completed in March and is open 24 hours a day, has 120 employees and parking for 200 vehicles.
This flagship is not your grandfather’s drugstore. One department sells beer, wine, and spirits. Its Upmarket Café has a juice bar, and offers sushi, poke, and sashimi, as well as wraps, sandwiches, baked goods, and frozen yogurt. The second floor is a pharmacy with an express pickup kiosk.
The building team on this project included DCK Pacific Construction (general contractor), Moss Engineering (electrical engineer), Allison-Ide Structure Engineers (structural engineer), Hida Okamoto (civil engineer), and Monaghan Landscape Architect.
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 18, 2024
A modular construction solution to the mental healthcare crisis
Maria Ionescu, Senior Medical Planner, Stantec, shares a tested solution for the overburdened emergency department: Modular hub-and-spoke design.
Codes and Standards | Mar 18, 2024
New urban stormwater policies treat rainwater as a resource
U.S. cities are revamping how they handle stormwater to reduce flooding and capture rainfall and recharge aquifers. New policies reflect a change in mindset from treating stormwater as a nuisance to be quickly diverted away to capturing it as a resource.
Plumbing | Mar 18, 2024
EPA to revise criteria for WaterSense faucets and faucet accessories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to revise its criteria for faucets and faucet accessories to earn the WaterSense label. The specification launched in 2007; since then, most faucets now sold in the U.S. meet or exceed the current WaterSense maximum flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm).
MFPRO+ New Projects | Mar 18, 2024
Luxury apartments in New York restore and renovate a century-old residential building
COOKFOX Architects has completed a luxury apartment building at 378 West End Avenue in New York City. The project restored and renovated the original residence built in 1915, while extending a new structure east on West 78th Street.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 18, 2024
YWCA building in Boston’s Back Bay converted into 210 affordable rental apartments
Renovation of YWCA at 140 Clarendon Street will serve 111 previously unhoused families and individuals.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 17, 2024
5 criteria to optimize medical office design
Healthcare designers need to consider privacy, separate areas for practitioners, natural light, outdoor spaces, and thoughtful selection of materials for medical office buildings.
Construction Costs | Mar 15, 2024
Retail center construction costs for 2024
Data from Gordian shows the most recent costs per square foot for restaurants, social clubs, one-story department stores, retail stores and movie theaters in select cities.
Architects | Mar 15, 2024
4 ways to streamline your architectural practice
Vessel Architecture's Lindsay Straatmann highlights four habits that have helped her discover the key to mastering efficiency as an architect.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 15, 2024
First comprehensive cancer hospital in Dubai to host specialized multidisciplinary care
Stantec was selected to lead the design team for the Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Hospital, Dubai’s first integrated, comprehensive cancer hospital. Named in honor of the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the hospital is scheduled to open to patients in 2026.
Codes and Standards | Mar 15, 2024
Technical brief addresses the impact of construction-generated moisture on commercial roofing systems
A new technical brief from SPRI, the trade association representing the manufacturers of single-ply roofing systems and related component materials, addresses construction-generated moisture and its impact on commercial roofing systems.