Client: JD Sports Fashion
Architect: Checkland Kindleysides
Contractpr: Brydol
Sub-contractor: Kievel Tiling & Granite Ltd
Type of works: supply of SSQ Riverstone® architectural stone; Crazy Paving.
With a 6m tall image of a horse dominating its frontage, the new Size? shoe store in The Horsefair in Bristol is impossible to miss. The quirky design of the latest in a chain of fifteen Size? shops, won it the accolade of being voted a Retail Week magazine ‘Store of the Week’ and appearing in their book, Stores 09.
Size? is part of JD Sports Fashion plc which, with over 400 stores, has become the UK’s leading specialist multiple retailer of fashionable sports and casual wear. Although Size? is predominately a showcase for the most up-to-date trainers, the store also offers its customers a complementary range of branded and own brand sports and casual clothing.
The rear wall of the single-floor store features a mural of Coleman’s painting – look more closely and you’ll notice that the characters’ clothes bear sportswear brand logos such as Adidas and Vans! The picture’s theme continues throughout the store: mannequins wearing carnival masks reflect the period’s popular 'freak shows' and the wooden buildings in the painting are mirrored by fixtures and fittings printed with a wood-grain effect. To add a more contemporary feel, graffiti-style graphics reflect the character of the Size? brand and acrylic boxes are used for merchandise presentation.
To further enhance the feel of being outside in The Horsefair, Checkland Kindleysides specified that the flooring used throughout the store should be riven slate laid in crazy paving style. Brydol, the main contractor, engaged the specialist services of Romsey-based Kievel Tiling to supply and lay the 102m2 floor. Kievel chose SSQ Riverstone Crazy Paving, the natural riven surface of the slate also providing a hard-wearing surface with excellent slip resistance. The thin slabs were bedded and flush-jointed in a natural-colour sand and cement mortar before being given two coats of a clear satin sealant to protect the floor from staining and to further enhance the slate’s dark Grey/Green colour.