House of Pure Vin

House of Pure Vin is a 3000 SF wine shop on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. An existing, and heavily contorted retail space was reconfigured into a series of smaller discrete spaces to simplify the experience and unfold the spatial sequence slowly and deliberately.

Nearly all of the wine bottles are contained within a 50-foot long ‘Library Wall” which displays 300 different bottles at eye level by cantilevering them by the bottle’s neck while storing the remaining bottles in an array of recyclable industrial core tubes typically used in manufacturing. While visually striking, the tubes have the added benefit of providing protection from light while ensuring the bottle remain sideways, maintaining a wet cork, and making it clear just how many of the remaining bottles from each case remain in stock.

As the space unfolds, a recessed retail pocket, featured selections, a climate-controlled champagne room, and tasting room appear. Select surfaces, including the face of the cash wrap, are clad with recycled wine cork material from Portugal. The steel frame of the cashwrap was re-purposed and modified from a former project just one mile north on Woodward.

Finishing details include an installation of custom laser-cut brackets that securely hold signed wine bottles in an undulating array along the rear wall — an emerging 'wall of fame' that commemorates events and visitors over time.