Commercial Architecture January 2018 - 6

the architects

DEPARTMENT

Lasting Advice
For Pop-Up
Architecture
Peter Birkholz, AIA, LEED AP

Above. The pop-up Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco features a
Sprinkle Pool, a popular selfie portrait location.

Page & Turnbull

B

Left. Page & Turnbull designers were able to integrate the Ice Cream
Museum with some of the features of the 1910 bank building that houses the pop-up shop.

uilding owners don't love pop-up tenants-
the temporary retail installations that occupy
storefronts and other spaces before long-term

leases are signed-but increasingly they really like them
a lot. Think about their quandary: Should retail spaces

pink banners and awnings, has several other features that

sit empty for months on end, a sign that the property is

are big crowd-pleasers but leave inspectors scratching

somehow less than desirable, or maybe overpriced? Or,

their heads. There's a fiberglass unicorn and the themed

why not invite a big charity or a hip chef or artist, or per-

Cotton Candy Room and Gummy Garden. On the main

haps even a fashion label to take over for a short while,

tenancy infeasible. In cities such as Austin, TX, and Nor-

level, visitors can dive into the Sprinkle Pool. (They aren't

drawing attention and activating the sidewalk out front?

folk, VA, however, local officials interested in the benefits

real sprinkles but rather small plastic tubes treated with

As more owners choose the latter path, architects are

of pop-ups for urban revitalization and drawing perma-

an antimicrobial agent.) It's a lavishly conceived pop-up,

tasked with designing cost-conscious and code-compliant

nent businesses have added new ordinances to expedite

part Willie Wonka and part Instagram-selfie opportunity.

temporary installations for these unique occupancies.

permitting of qualifying pop-ups.

For pop-up renters, complying with the codes may

Pop-up operators range from profit-making enterpris-

Since accessibility is the law of the land, any pop-up

seem wasteful and extravagant, so here's some key advice:

es looking for local exposure to civic groups and social

location for public use must meet Americans with Dis-

Seek spaces with existing infrastructure (lighting, toilets,

entrepreneurs aiming to elevate their artistic or political

abilities Act (ADA) guidelines and related jurisdictional

mechanical systems) and work with an architect and

statements. They include short-term retailers and restau-

codes. That means proper wheelchair clearances are re-

contractor who fully understand the local approval and

rants and temporary art galleries and attractions, such as

quired throughout the space and at toilet facilities. Yet it

permitting requirements. Architects also can refine a de-

our Museum of Ice Cream, located inside a historic 1910

rarely makes economic sense to rebuild existing facilities

sign in ways that minimize lengthy approvals. Consider

bank building at One Grant Avenue in San Francisco.

for a short-term use.

services such as Appear Here (appearhere.nyc) and The-

Others are simply interesting spaces-some teetering on

In the ideal pop-up scenario, the existing mechani-

Storefront.com, which present their services as the AirB-

the edge of habitability-where owners host transient users

cal, electrical, plumbing and fire- and life-safety systems

nB of retail. If you're a tenant leasing space and hoping to

and special events.

(MEP-FLS) do not need to be modified. The reality is that

sublease to a pop-up sub-tenant, read your lease carefully.

pop-ups often need to add rooms and walls. This triggers

Most won't allow it. CA

CHALLENGES AND LIABILITIES

the need to modify the MEP-FLS, and often requires

Pop-up spaces, sometimes called "flash retail" shops,

extensive documentation to meet current building and

Peter Birkholz, AIA, LEED AP, is principal with Page &

come with unique challenges and liabilities. First,

energy codes.

Turnbull, San Francisco, a leading architecture, planning,

while owners and pop-up tenants may hope otherwise,

These requirements may include code-mandated items

and preservation firm behind award-winning cultural, com-

the spaces must meet all prevailing codes and local or-

the pop-up tenant never uses. For the Museum of Ice

mercial, educational, and civic building projects around the

dinances, including land-use and zoning laws, licens-

Cream, for example, local ordinances required the tenant

United States.

ing rules, health-department codes, accessibility and

to add three-compartment sinks at ice-cream-scooping

egress requirements, and fire-department occupancy

counters-a complicated change and long-lead item that

limits. In certain cases, a rule may be relaxed. For ex-

would require extensive piping to be routed through a his-

ample, we have worked with pop-up-space owners to

toric space above. The museum ultimately made proper

modify the scope and re-use existing signage, thereby

provisions for a nice, albeit temporary, portable sink.

Interview With
Peter Birkholz

eliminating requirements for a lengthy preservation

Another consideration is that pop-up spaces are often

review otherwise mandated for exterior modifications.

unfinished and need to provide lighting. The building

Still, entitlements and permitting are central to mak-

codes do not acknowledge the concept of temporary con-

Learn more about pop-up architecture and the

ing pop-up architecture work. In many jurisdictions, ob-

struction, so any new lighting must be fully documented

process behind it in our interview with Peter Birkholz

taining a normal or temporary certificate of occupancy

to show energy-code compliance.

at commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/architects.

is onerous and time-consuming, rendering quick pop-up
6

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

JANUARY 2018

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

The Museum of Ice Cream, now bedecked with hot
http://www.TheStorefront.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/architects http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture January 2018
