Harley-Davidson Canada

Step inside one of Harley-Davidson’s three new Canadian retail stores and it’s easy to see how the hog lifestyle gets the adrenaline pumping.

The retailer’s latest design, courtesy of Stantec Architecture (Vancouver, B.C.), transports the open road to the sales floor. “We wanted to get back to the basics of what it means to own a Harley,” says Mark Travis, senior project designer at Stantec. “We used raw, industrial materials, along with larger-than-life local imagery to ‘put the buyer on the road.’ ”

Amid rows of shiny new bikes, designers juxtaposed steel, wood, glass, rubber and stained concrete to create a balance of machine and nature. Large stretched fabric suspended from the ceiling resembles the curved and molded elements of a Harley.

Graphics showing riders in action, whether competing on a course or riding on a lone stretch of highway, connect consumers to the biker lifestyle.

Client: Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, Concord, Ont. — Malcolm Hunter, president and chief operating officerDon James, chairman and ceo

Design/Architect: Stantec Architecture Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. — Brent North, principal-in-charge; Mark Travis, senior project designer; Darren Burns, project manager; Ivan Velikov, intern architect; Antoaneta Eneva, intern architect; Tara Christiansen, junior designer; Charles Reynolds, graphic designer – architectural graphics

Engineering Team: Glenn Hubick, structural engineer; Mark Yeung, mechanical engineer; Ahmet Ulker, electrical engineer; Sunny Ghataurah, electrical designer; Alex Panzer, civil engineer; Fred Crease, specifications; Cara MacDonald, landscape architecture

General Contractor: LNS Services Ltd., North Vancouver, B.C.

Outside Design Consultants: Gage Babcock & Associates Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. (code consultant); Morrison Hershfield, Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. (building envelope); Levelton Consultants Ltd., Richmond, B.C. (geotechnical engineering); Keith Panel Systems Co., Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. (panel rep); McGregor & Tompson Hardware Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. (hardware); Karo Design Vancouver, Vancouver, B.C. (exhibit designer)

Audio/Visual: DMX Canada, Calgary, Alb.

Ceilings: Eventscape, Etobicoke, Ont.

Fixtures, Mannequins and Forms: JP Metal America, Montreal

Furniture: Herman Miller, Vancouver, B.C.

Lighting: Nelson Electric Supply Co., Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Props and decoratives: Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, Concord, Ont.

Signage/Graphics: BDI-Beyond Digital Imaging, Markham, Ont.

Millwork: Trident Millwork & Display Industries, Richmond, B.C.

Photography: Ed White Photographics Inc., Vancouver, B.C.