Photo courtesy of NWCB The Louis Vuitton store at Hotel Vancouver combines modern design with vintage construction.

This renovation project for Louis Vuitton at the Hotel Vancouver doubled the boutique’s floor space to approximately 10,000 square feet and transformed it from one level to a two-level store featuring a huge “piano opening” and a two-story-tall “bag bar.”

The existing store had to be kept open during construction, requiring the contractor to use multiple construction phases and plenty of night work.

The project combines a modern high-end store with an iconic heritage building. Demolition revealed remnants of late 1930’s construction which had to be preserved, as the hotel had originally opened in 1939 and is a designated Heritage site. The end result blends high-end vintage construction with modern design concepts.

Combining old and new construction techniques proved be challenging. Special attention had to be paid to preparing the older substrates of the building to take the new finishes and features of the new design.

Judge’s comment: “This new interior is a great example of how quality wall and ceiling work can control retail traffic space both visually and physically, helping stores sell products. The interior ceiling and wall added elegance to the store.”