Duffy Design Group was recently presented with the International Interior Design Association's (IIDA) 2009 New England Interior Design Award for Best Retail Project. Duffy Design Group's award winning entry was D Scale, a modern furnishings and accessories store owned by Dennis Duffy. The ceremony was held at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the judges were from IIDA's Georgia Chapter. This year's project entries had to be designed by New England firms, be completed and occupied after January 1, 2006, and could be located anywhere.
Dennis Duffy, principal of Duffy Design Group acted as both designer and client for this project. A long-time resident of Boston's South End, Duffy is familiar with the neighborhood, its residents and the people who are drawn to visit the area. It was his intent that this new furnishings and accessories store join the burgeoning area of SoWa - (South of Washington St.) in the South End and become a destination store. SoWa's enclave of artist studios has recently been complemented with up-scale restaurants and retail stores that have led some to observe that this neighborhood might soon become Boston's version of Tribeca. Having worked with the developer of this area on other commercial projects, Duffy had a deep understanding of the overall concept of the area.
Because the existing space occupied a corner of a building that had once been used for manufacturing, it had great exposure to the street. The upper level, three ft. above street level, would still have 13 ft. ceiling heights. The lower level, below grade would still have exposure to the street from the existing building openings. In order to maximize this and to highlight the industrial "bones" of the space, the upper floor plate was pulled away from the exterior wall, allowing more natural light to penetrate to the lower level. In contrast with the raw steel columns and granite façade, the interior was designed to convey a sense of luxe modernism. 30" wide horizontal bands of masonite projected off of the interior walls, finished in a graphic presence. Other finishes utilized, such as the leather and steel clad columns and the grey ash provide a synergistic contrast to the raw, industrial elements of the base building.
D Scale was recently awarded Home Accents Today's 50 Retail Stars for 2009, a National Award for The Best and The Brightest Retail Stores Sponsored by Americas Mart'Atlanta.