Fall ‘20 - Adaptive Reuse of the Quebedeaux Chevrolet DTPHX

Architects: Ralph Haver and Victor Gruen & Local architect Max Kauffman.

Along Phoenix's "Funset Strip" (Van Buren), the Quebedeaux Chevrolet building has anchored the southern end of Grand Avenue to Van Buren. Victor Gruen, a maestro of visual marketing and an early pioneer of the Shopping Mall idea, designed it in 1954. He was actively involved in developing innovative methods of staging, lighting, and even scenting commercial environments. A large eave shades a curtain wall of west-facing windows, and the apex of the prow is accentuated by a laminated wood beam of epic proportions. The studio's objective was to redesign the building's function into a purposeful environment for the modern-day.