Bicycle Space has been our go-to bike shop in DC for the past year or so. If you haven’t been there before, you should check them out — they are knowledgble, friendly, and very approachable, something I can definitely appreciate since my knowledge of bikes is somewhat minimal. When I put together a custom-build tour bike last year, they helped me through every part of it. Through that process, the many event rides we’ve gone on with them, some video shooting/editing I’ve helped them out with, and the Monday night yoga that I attend, hosted in their shop, I’ve gotten to know Erik and Jordan, two of the owner-managers. So when they approached me last month to help them with the design of their shop, I was eager to work them out in laying out their new space, which is now located at 1019 7th Street, NW – just off Mount Vernon Square and across from the Convention Center.
I met with Erik and Jordan in the space a few times to discuss their ideas and see what the new layout looked like. Though smaller than their former shop, the space presented a lot of great possibilities. I can’t take credit for any of the design, since Jordan already had pretty solid ideas in mind for what they wanted. He mocked-up several of his ideas roughly in Sketch-Up, and then I helped translate them into a series of images showing different layout combinations, materials, and colors. An important part of the design was to keep the layout flexible, while highlighting the different styles of bikes they carry. We discussed what they liked in the initial images I created and continued to refine the plans together. Meanwhile, their contractor was starting to implement the changes in the build-out.
None of these rendered images was meant to show a completely final, polished look — so these renders are all quick and rough. Instead, they used this as a design exercise to test out a variety of different options, materials, and to see how to best maximize the space. And the final result? Here are a few preview pictures, posted at Prince of Petworth, from their soft opening last week. Better yet, stop by, say hi, and see it for yourself!
One Comment
Nice write-up Lori, you were great to work with! Actually, you did do much of the design, translating Jordan’s ideas into more or less the final form. It was a great experience working with you on this, from start to finish in 7 short weeks!