Focus menswear are a gentlemans clothing and wedding hire business, they have been based in Bangor and Newtownards for two generations. The shop unit in South Street, Newtownards was a small two storey shop with vehicular access at one side servicing a car garage to the rear. The shop unit had a limited sales space at ground floor and had a number of inherant building defects from poor construction and poor quality ad-hoc additions from decades ago. The first floor was used for garment adjustments and cleaning of rental wedding attire.

The architectural brief was to provide as large a shop unit as possible, maximising ground floor sales space and providing first floor storage for seasonal and school garments. The family business had refurbished their flagship store in bangor some time ago with a contemporary finish, and believed that their Newtownards store should reflect the modern branded aesthetic to match.

We led a negotiated a contract with a local builder who had a great deal of input into the design due to the conditions of poor ground and the adjacent terraced buildings few of which had adequate foundations and most were of poor construction. The existing unit was demolished, a concrete ground beam with piled foundations was created and a steel framed shed construction was agreed upon. The frontage of the shop received the most amount of attention with a welcoming feature stair, modern aesthetic, bespoke display furniture and spacious entrance. The double hight entrance linking the VIP wedding showroom with the rest of the store provides a comforting introduction to local customers.