Bass Pro Shops Outdoor

Specialty Store, sales area over 50,000 sq. ft.
First Place (tie)
This project also was part of a Special Award for innovative visual merchandising
Bass Pro Shops Inc., Springfield, Mo.

Taking a “funky Cajun” approach to their two-story, 110,000-square-foot Bossier City, La., store, designers at Bass Pro Shops used natural materials, faux props and plenty of animal appeal that pepper the store with regional flavor. Plaster walls, local timbers and corrugated tin give the exterior a rustic look, while large windows offer clear sightlines into the themed space. Bold colors and graphics, as well as oversized life-like – and real – props, such as replications of cypress trees, tree houses and stone fireplaces, give visitors the feeling of stepping back into historical times.

To extend the regional flavor, designers invited local hunters and anglers to display their highly unique collections in the space, including collections of lure, duck, elk, whitetail deer and Civil War arms. And visual elements, such as floor carvings of local prehistoric Petra cliffs at the base of the aquarium, hand-painted topographic regional maps on the walls, and black-and-white photos of local huntsman and fisherman, extend the local flavor – and the brand.

Client/Design: Bass Pro Shops Inc., Springfield, Mo.
Tom Jowett, vp, design and development
Tom Gammon, director of construction
Mark Tuttle, director of architecture, project designer
Lenny Clark, senior technical designer
Marek Krukowski, project designer
Glennon Scheid, interior project manager
Dave Geuea, project manager
Monica Matthias, interior project manager — fixtures, signage
Rick Collins, taxidermy
Bruce Teter, retail planning director

General Contractor: Gilbane Building, Houston

Architect: Creative Ink., Springfield, Mo.

Landscape Architects: Spaid Associates, St. Louis

Interior/Exterior Design Consultant: Russ Halley, Springfield, Mo.

Imagery Consultant: Marvin Levine, Lipan, Texas

Carpet: Mohawk Carpet, Calhoun, Ga.

Finishes: Color Brite, Cincinnati

Fixtures: Bass Pro Fabrication Shop, Nixa, Mo.
Fentress Marine, Largo, Fla.
Lozier, St. Peters, Mo.
TJ Hale, Menomonee Falls, Wis.
White Oak Displays, Manheim, Pa.

Furniture: Country Casual, Gaithersburg, Md.
Roadside Rustics, Eureka Springs, Ark.
Rocky Creek, Stephenville, Texas

Imagery: Maine Bucket Co., Lewiston, Maine

Signage and Graphics: Garage Graphics, Springfield, Mo.
Signs Now, Springfield, Mo.

Photography : Douglas K. Hill/Hill Photographics, Snellville, Ga.