Bringing an iconic Oregon business’ store into the future can be a challenge for any design and architecture group. Plus, pressure to deliver can arise when the store is located in one of the top-rated airports in the nation.

But the architecture and design teams of MCA Architects, Czopek Design Studio and COR Construction rose to the challenge and “refreshed” the Made in Oregon store on Concourse C at Portland International Airport.

“We wanted to enhance the brand,” Made in Oregon General Manager Candace Vincent said. “We wanted it to still be Made in Oregon and have an easier flow of shopping. We wanted to have a cleaner environment.”

The result was a redesign of the 950-square-foot store that has made it the showpiece of the company. Features include new fixtures, a “living wall” and fiberglass trees to keep the Northwest vibe of the store. The aisles were also expanded and the number of products was reduced to make the store feel less cluttered.

“The funny thing is all the people don’t realize that it’s Made in Oregon because it looks so different,” Vincent said.

The revamp was necessitated in 2015, when the Port of Portland decided to require businesses at the airport to update their store appearances. Businesses were required to re-apply in order to keep their existing locations.

Currently, Made in Oregon has three locations at the airport – one outside of security checkpoints, one on Concourse C and another on Concourse D. However, the company was allowed to keep only one of the two concourse locations and chose to keep the one on Concourse C; the store on Concourse D will close Jan. 31, 2017.

“The deal was you could bid on as many (locations) as you want, but you could only get one (location),” Vincent said.

The Port of Portland had very specific guidelines as to what a successful applicant would have to include. The redesigned stores would have to include a high level of design and quality of material. The companies would have to incorporate features that account for employees’ well-being and ergonomics. The designs would also have to improve the look and user experience within the business.

There were also environmental requirements that factored into product choices.

“The port has exceedingly high standards for materials,” Czopek Design Studio principal Linda Czopek said. “They have requirements about all the things that can be used.”

Czopek Design Studio dealt with much of the interior design and meeting the port’s requirements. One of the big ones was that no synthetic materials or plastics be included.

“A lot of shelving is plastic or vinyl, and we had to avoid that,” Czopek Design Studio senior designer Jen Pucillo said. “We had to custom-build most of the retail fixtures to use more sustainable materials.”

In an effort to keep much of the custom work local, the design team turned to Overkill Design and Creation for much of the shelving and Oregon Lumber for flooring. The port’s requirements affected nearly all decisions made during the redesign.

“There were some cases in terms of durability that the requirement to use all natural materials determined what we used,” MCA Architects associate Frank Rudloff said. “Some of those might not wear as well as some synthetic materials might. Overall, I think it’s a positive thing.”

Other challenges in the redesign involved the airport environment. In most retail businesses, patrons aren’t dragging luggage behind them. The fact that Made in Oregon sells such a variety of products in such a small space presented problems.

“They have a lot of (foot) traffic,” Czopek said. “You have to have materials that can hold up to it. Everything has to be super-efficient. Wrapping and bagging can’t take up half the store. People are carrying bags, dragging suitcases. We were really focused on trying to make the experience of going through the store a little more pleasant.”

Another challenge that was unique to the redesign was security. For most projects, construction workers don’t have to pass security checks and wear badges. Then there was the fact that Made in Oregon wasn’t the only store undergoing construction.

“The whole security and the badging process takes time if they aren’t already badged,” Rudloff said. “That can be surprisingly long. The port set the process up where they had a lot of work going on all at the same time. There usually is not such a concentrated amount of work being done by so many people. We also had to do a lot of work at night when it’s less busy.”

Timing was a big element of planning and execution of reworking the store. Construction began the weekend after Labor Day and was completed on Nov. 23. During construction, the company had to settle for operating out of a small kiosk in front of Gate C8.

“Our first goal was Nov. 8,” Vincent said. “Then our main goal was to be up and running by Thanksgiving. We had this little kiosk, but we had to take it down every night. It was definitely an inconvenience.”

Much of the delay stemmed from Made in Oregon’s need to special-order many of the fixtures and shelving.

“The time that it took to order the special lights and the fiberglass trees caused issues,” Vincent said. “We definitely kept the ‘Northwesty’ feel we wanted.”

Despite all of the obstacles, everyone involved was pleased with the results. In fact, some of the design changes could be incorporated into some of Made in Oregon’s nine other locations around the state.

“There are elements from that store that could be used in other places,” Vincent said. “I think it is one of our best accomplishments in the company. I think it turned out well beyond our expectations.”

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