Your Food (Stand) is Problematic.

I have a confession – I love the Arizona State Fair.  My wife and I go every year – but not for the rides.  We go for the food – just the food.  Seriously, where else can you find so much tasty goodness in one place; funnel cake, hot dogs, sausages, pizza, and my favorite – a giant BBQ turkey leg and fries with melted cheese drizzled over the top.  By far the worst thing for you, but so amazingly good, it’s worth the artery clogging cholesterol and the subsequent 15 hours at the gym the next day.

So what does this have to do with design and rendering? 

If I didn’t know what amazing culinary treasures lay in wait down the food aisle of the state fair, I probably would never walk around that general area.  The fact is the food aisle at most state fairs consist of prefab sheds with some kind of tacky lighting and almost impossible to read menus.  Furthermore, the walkways between booths are obstacle courses fraught with haphazardly placed trash cans and condiment stations, all lit with a 4 watt light bulb. Each booth is stacked right on top of the other with lines that seem to have no rhyme or reason, and often end up colliding with one and other.  You could stand in line for an hour waiting for a tasty polish sausage only to end up at the fat free yogurt stand. Then of course, finding a seat becomes an impossible mission – especially when carrying a tray heaped with mouth watering deliciousness. 

Standard concession stands.

Stands literally on top of each other

More smashing in of stands and signage.

A client of mine had an idea to fix that problem.  He proposed creating a much nicer concession stand that would play up to its surroundings. His idea – make the stand look like the thing you're selling.  While this idea isn’t particularly new or anything (remember the banana stand in “Arrested Development”),  his idea was to bring that concept to the next level.

The Bluth's Banana Stand from "Arrested Development"

A themed concession stand.

The Long Island Duck - I have no idea what is inside this thing.

Our first attempt at exploring this concept was with an orange-shaped concession stand.  Perhaps they would sell orange flavored smoothies (like an Orange Julius) or ice cream or something else orange related.  The stand itself would be rather large – about 19’ in diameter and able to accommodate up to 3 employees. 

The stand would contain blenders, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves and other appliance needed for that particular food vendor.

The entire stand would be mounted on a trailer for easy towing and storage.  The top of the orange would be on a massive hinge so it could open up, allowing the employees to work in a semi-open air environment, instead of being cooped up in cramped shack. Due to the height of the stand, the top portion could be removed and towed separately on another trailer, making it possible to navigate under overpasses or through tunnels (although a stand this big would be given a wide load designation).  The stand would also have its own self contained queue, giving better order and direction to what usually is a migraine inducing nightmare called a line at the fair.

When the time comes to move the stand to its next location, the entire thing basically folds into its self.  The top can come down (or be removed), the elevated deck and stairs fold up against the hull of the orange, and all of the speed rails (handrails) can be packed into storage areas contained on the trailer. 

Hopefully, I will be working on more of these ideas if the client decides to pursue this further.  I for one would be very happy to visit this stand, even if they just offered orange flavored yogurt.

Feel free to share your concession stand nightmares with us; or, if you have found unique stands that you would like to share, send us a link in the comments section of this blog!

Happy eating!

First Class Storage Facility

If anyone reading this blog has ever had to move their own stuff, then you know what a hassle it can be.  If everything goes smoothly, you can move all your stuff from one location directly to the next, or, if you’re really lucky, you can just hire a moving company.  However, most of the time, that is not the case, and something goes wrong, forcing you to use a storage facility for some amount of time. Personally, I do not enjoy these places.  I liken it to a prison for your stuff – poorly lit, cramped, sterile, and for some reason, they always seem to smell bad – like rotting cardboard and mothballs.  Add to that the actual lobby where you purchase your rental space – dirty, grimy and not particularly friendly.  The locations of these facilities are also problematic, as they are usually located in some sort of demilitarized zone – not the first neighborhood I would want to store my valuables. The entire experience is only slightly better then sitting through an insurance seminar at the DMV.

So, when Sure Storage USA came to Lone Wolf Drafting and Design to help them develop a premier storage facility, I was intrigued and very interested in taking the job.  Sure Storage wanted to create the anti-storage facility.  They wanted a facility that was bright, cheerful, warm, inviting and located in a safe, secure neighborhood.  They wanted the “Waldorf Astoria of storage units”.

So, with the input of a storage unit specialist, I began developing the space that they wanted.  They had some specific needs in there design program: a manager’s office, conference room, Post Office kiosk, and a moving supply sales kiosk.  Sure Storage was going to use several specific storage unit sizes: 10’x20’, 10’x15’, 10’x10’, 10’x5’, and 5’x5’. Therefore, I decided to use those storage units as the basis for the rooms that would be featured in there lobby.  The 10’x20’ unit was used as their conference room, and the 10’x10’ unit became the manager’s office.  The 10’x15’ unit became the Post Office kiosk, and the 5’x5’ unit became the security and surveillance booth.  The 10’x5’ unit was used as the moving and packing supplies kiosk. 

5'x5' and 10'x5' units

10'x15' USPS Kiosk

5'x5' Security Kiosk

Sure Storage not only wanted a warm looking feel, but they also wanted a way to convey their strength and security.  Therefore, I finished off the walls with a standard drywall and paint finish, but I added in a cutaway curve that shows the steel panel walls that makes up the walls of the storage units. 

One of the biggest requests that Sure Storage had was lots of natural light.  Therefore, the conference room and manager’s office has large windows cut into the outer walls, and the inner walls are glass curtain walls to allow as much light through as possible.  Skylights are cut into the ceiling throughout the entire lobby.  Florescent lights were not used anywhere in the building – instead soft white canned incandescent lights were used throughout. 

The main customer service counter consists of large, sweeping curve clad in Moz Designs Metals with raised lettering, topped with a black granite counter top – no vinyl or plastic tops here!  Large plasma screens show off Sure Storage’s latest products, while two large product kiosks display moving equipment and storage solutions.

The final result is a beautifully designed space that would welcome even the most discerning storage customer.  Do you have horror stories about storage facilities?  Would you seek out a storage facility like this one if you had the choice?  Share your thoughts and stories in the comments section!  I hope to hear from you soon!

Welcome to Sun Devil Country!

Recently, Lone Wolf Drafting and Design was commissioned to create a rendering for a new sports bar and restaurant that is coming to the Phoenix Valley. For confidentiality purposes, I cannot reveal the name or location of this establishment, but I did want to share the interior images with anyone interested. This project was my first bar/ restaurant project, so I was rather excited to be a part of it. For the most part, the entire design was laid out, but I did have the privilege of adding some of my own elements into the project. For instance, I was able to design the pendants over the bar, and the vertical wall lights that sit between each of the large, 60” plasma TVs, as well as the liquor tower that sits in the center of the oval bar, and the wall mounted shelving that sits behind the service bar. Since this bar will be located in ASU Sun Devil country, I decided to outfit the bar with ASU memorabilia, and Sun Devil images and logos. The overall feel of this design is fun and exciting, with underlying feel of class and sophistication as expressed through its modern industrial design. If the project goes forward, I will post the exterior images of the restaurant. Comments are always welcome.

Stone, Concrete, Wood and Ceramic Study

Hello All - recently I have been in talks with a company that deals specifically with decorative stone, concrete, wood and ceramic/ terra cotta tile. To date, none of my projects really uses any great deal of those materials. The majority of my projects consist mostly of brick, concrete (for construction, not decoration), various metals, glass and other more modern building materials. Therefore, I decided to create a small structure designed entirely of the previously mentioned building materials for this potential client, so he can better see what our capabilities are with those materials. Comments and feedback are always welcome. Thanks for stopping by.

Hello All, thanks for stopping by. It has been a few weeks since my last post, as I have been working on a few projects that I have recently completed. Soon, all of the images for each project will be posted on my website.

New Project List:

Executive Home Office
Home Theater/ Media Room
Las Vegas Style Garage
Modern Art Gallery

Executive Home Office:

Home Theater/ Media Room:

Las Vegas Garage:

Modern Art Gallery:

Please check my website often for updates: http://www.lonewolfdrafting.com/. Thanks for stopping by.

Sean