Anthropologie store

Architects decided against traditional clear storefront glass at the Anthropologie store at the Dos Lagos shopping center in Corona, Calif. Instead, designers from Work C of New York specified four types of channels for the front façade, three of glass and one of aluminum. The store opened in February.

“Anthropologie [owners] like to keep a sense of mystery with their stores,” says Dan Wood, principal at Work AC and project architect. “They don't have big signs or flashy advertising. They let the architecture speak for their brand. In this store, the variation across the façade using channels in different finishes gives that sense of mystery.”

Bendheim Wall Systems of Passaic, N.J., supplied three textures of Linit channel glass for the project: Klar/Clarissimo with low-emissivity coating, making the exterior surface iridescent; Sandblasted Solar, creating a frosted look with a fine mesh pattern; and Piccolo, a fine ribbed texture. The textures alternate across the front façade, allowing passers-by glimpses of the store inside through the clear channels.

“From the outside, you can get the sense of the store, but you have to go inside to see the full thing,” Wood says.

Designers created several display windows by pushing the channel façade back several feet and using floor-to-ceiling glass at the front, creating a “glass latrine,” Wood says. Aluminum channels are used within the display windows to conceal the access doors.

Natural light fills the interior from the front façade as well as from a glass enclosed courtyard of clear storefront units.

D&R Glass Inc. of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was the glazing contractor and supplied the clear glass units. Russell-Filand Builders Inc. served as the general contractor and fabricated the aluminum channels onsite.