Phone
(903) 583-7500
Project Overview
At Sunglass Hut’s SoHo location at 496 Broadway in New York City, an existing office and back-of-house area needed greater flexibility without sacrificing valuable retail space. The challenge was to create a large operable partition that could separate the office from the sales environment when needed while opening substantially when the spaces needed to function together.
A conventional fixed wall would permanently divide the spaces, while a traditional overhead door would introduce tracks and operating hardware into an interior already coordinated around retail fixtures, lighting, and customer circulation. The solution needed to provide separation when closed, preserve a generous passage when open, and become part of the store’s interior architecture rather than look like conventional overhead door equipment.
Renlita’s Float vertical lift system, formerly the S-1000 Floataway, provided a custom single-panel solution designed specifically around those requirements.
The Challenge
The Sunglass Hut project required an operable partition large enough to meaningfully change how the interior space functioned while fitting within an existing retail environment.
The opening separated the sales area from an existing office and back-of-house portion of the store, making space efficiency particularly important. An overhead system extending tracks into the room would compete with ceiling space and other building systems, while a conventional wall or swinging partition would limit how completely the two areas could be connected.
The partition also needed to work as a deliberate interior design element. At more than 13 feet wide and 9 feet tall, the door would occupy a significant portion of the space when closed, making its appearance and integration with the surrounding architecture central to the design.
The Solution
Renlita engineered a custom Float vertical lift door measuring 13 feet 8-1/2 inches wide by 9 feet 4-1/4 inches high for the Sunglass Hut SoHo location. The single-panel system spans the large interior opening while lifting vertically to create a clear passage between the retail and office areas.
The door incorporates six Sensitile infill panels supplied by others, allowing the operable partition to function as part of the interior design rather than resembling a conventional commercial overhead door. The custom panel arrangement divides the large surface into a structured architectural grid that complements the surrounding retail environment.
A counterweight-balanced lifting system supports the large door panel, with powered operation provided by a compact ZAP motor and keyed wall control. Because the Float travels vertically rather than along horizontal overhead tracks, the system concentrates its operating components around the opening and preserves more of the surrounding interior space.
The completed installation gives Sunglass Hut a substantial movable architectural partition: closed when separation between spaces is needed and raised when a larger, more connected interior is desired.
Key Benefits
Flexible Space Planning
The Float allows Sunglass Hut to change the relationship between its sales and office areas without permanently dedicating floor space to a fixed partition. When closed, the 13-foot-wide single panel creates separation between the spaces. When raised, it opens a large passage that allows the two areas to function more cohesively.
Space-Efficient Vertical Operation
Instead of using horizontal tracks that extend into the room, the Float raises vertically at the opening. This keeps the operating system concentrated around the partition and preserves valuable ceiling and interior space within the retail environment.
Custom Architectural Integration
Six Sensitile infill panels supplied by others transform the large Float panel into an architectural feature within the store. Rather than introducing the appearance of a conventional overhead door into the retail interior, the custom cladding allows the movable partition to complement the surrounding design while still providing the functionality of a large operable opening.