Design That Makes a Difference: SHKS Architects Supports FRB’s Growth

events

Jun 10

When Furniture Repair Bank (FRB) started three years ago, we didn’t imagine we’d so quickly outgrow our 2,400-square-foot space. But after engaging nearly 3,000 community members who restored more than 2,000 pieces of furniture for over 600 neighbors in the first two years, we knew we needed more space, not only to restore furniture, but to serve and support the dedicated volunteer community at the heart of what we do.

The new space, more than twice the size of our previous workshop, with its soaring ceilings, was full of possibility. What we needed was a thoughtful layout and storage systems to support FRB’s work and community, including intuitive workflow, peer-to-peer empowerment, and a dedicated space for volunteers to connect away from the workshop floor.

Connecting with SHKS Architects

Little did we know that the first seed for this design process was planted when Stephen Trigueiro and Andreas Baatz from SHKS Architects joined us as volunteers in the summer of 2024. After sharing their experience with colleagues, SHKS Office Manager, Jerad Allen, scheduled a volunteer day for the larger team. In October 2024, their team came for their first volunteer event to help with furniture restoration, then returned in February 2025 for more restoration and to build a new storage system for beds.

When we secured our new space later that summer, FRB Communications Manager Sara Dandy asked the SHKS team if they would provide in-kind support to design our space and storage systems. They were happy to help. “It’s just work we like to do,” SHKS Principal, Pia Westen said. “I think the Furniture Repair Bank, in particular, aligns a lot with our own values of how we want to be practicing and are rooted in sustainability. Stewardship is sustainability, and to us, like the Repair Bank where furniture gets a second life—that’s the work we do on buildings.”

photo of an empty warehouse space — Our Blank Space before move-in!

Planning for Progress

Pia and SHKS team member Vivian Gruendel met several times with FRB’s Executive Director, Xenia Dolovova, and Wood Shop Volunteer Coordinator, AJ Black, to discuss workshop layout and design of storage systems for dining tables, chairs and bed frames. “Their consultation went a tremendously long way toward helping us identify space 'pain points' and allowed us to start thinking about our storage solutions in a much more custom and optimized way,” said AJ.

These conversations along with their hands-on volunteer work were pivotal to the design, especially for the storage systems. “It’s so clear that this is a storage system for furniture, but it’s for people. It’s so that all of them can work together,” explained Vivian. “So as great as efficiency is, there is also something to be said about the space having a common language so that everybody can participate in it more easily…and engage with each other more easily.”

Designing for Variety

Given the variety, shape, and size of items FRB receives, flexibility and adaptability were built into the storage systems as well. Pia explained that it was important that “one solution [could] serve as many different purposes as possible.” This required that she and Vivian tweak plans and designs up to and including the day they completed the chair storage system. “We designed the chair system to hold chairs that were a certain size. Then we showed up, mocked one up, and asked to have the weirdest chairs brought to us. It turned out we needed to adjust the system a bit to accommodate more than a standard set.”

The day of the build, PIa and Vivian were joined by nine other SHKS team members. AJ, along with FRB Fulfillment and Logistics Coordinator Aubrey Davis and volunteer Dan Swallow, had procured supplies necessary for the day, including 4,000 pounds of plywood and 2x4’s! “The SHKS team showed up in force and did an incredible amount of physically demanding work, all with an inspiring level of enthusiasm!” observed Dan.

Storage that Supports Variety

From the big picture to the details, SHKS’ hands-on experience in the workshop, coupled with their deep listening and openness to revisions—especially the day of the build—yielded a space that not only works well structurally but also helps staff and volunteers more easily complete projects. “The ability to work out optimal dimensions for our custom storage was such a game changer for us at FRB,” said AJ. “Using Average dimensions of certain items to determine what was the sweet spot between too big vs too small, too low vs too tall, etc. was an area that we had struggled with in isolation for some time.”

“The positive effect of having this custom storage was immediately felt. Our space is so much tidier and easy to maintain, furniture is less frequently damaged as a result of spending time in storage, and our staff and volunteers are much safer and more relaxed in the space now that things are neat and secure.”

Built for Success

“The storage solutions SHKS designed and built have made our lives so much easier,” added Aubrey. “It's so much easier to find tables and beds, and we no longer have to climb our tallest ladder to reach the chairs. These solutions have also done a great job of protecting the furniture, so it doesn't get damaged before we start working on it, which was a frequent problem before.”

“Getting to help and work and build in your own backyard—having that sort of immediacy is really great,” said Vivian of our partnership. “And if more than your office is doing it, then it just compounds and compounds. And it might be an optimistic view, but if enough people have it, then there’s some sort of difference being made.”

Stay tuned for more updates, including an open door event in July to debut the upgrades from the Blank Space to The Repair Place campaign. We continue to transform our space to strengthen community, improve volunteers’ experience, and expand our impact by keeping furniture in circulation for the benefit of all community members!