Some conventions beg for a challenge. Case in point: a fabric warehouse in Auckland, New Zealand, where visitors stride up a concrete ramp from a street on the central city's light-industrial fringes. Passing through crystalline glass doors, they find themselves not in a dull reception area leading to anonymous offices, but among colorful bolts of gorgeous cloth—all while loading and deliveries carry on hectically around them. The architects responsible for this upending of typical warehouse hierarchy say hiding the fabrics from view was never an option. “A traditional office warehouse is highly divided,” says Tim Hay, cofounder of Fearon Hay Architects, “but here there's a beautiful texture and visual scene. Why would you want to compromise that? It's lovely to be in this room and be able to survey the whole space.” This embrace of openness instead of segregation at Wall Fabrics, a wholesaler of high-end fashion textiles, is bringing welcome benefits, according to the firm's owner, Roger Wall. “I think everyone's interested in this space, which changes things—everyone's attitude has lifted. It's a simpler place to work,” he says.
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