Forward Contracting was commissioned to create a boutique store for the international retailer L’Occitane as part of a new retail and dining development in Chelmsford.
Working from just a shell, the project needed to be complete to coincide with the development’s grand opening. We started the planning stage of this project some weeks before we could start work on site to ensure all the key dates and requirements of the development’s main contractor would be met.
A structural opening was required within the first-floor slab to allow the installation of a steel staircase. The shop front was the main focal point and needed to fit the opening and support the high-level cladding, while leaving an opening for the fixed glazed windows and frameless glazed doors below. To achieve this, we worked closely with the client’s project managers to produce feasibility studies and samples for the proposed finishes. The combination of aluminium and timber interlinked cladding provided the finishing touch to this eye-catching boutique.