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Why is a good locker so hard to find?

Healthcare is not the only industry craving craftsmanship. Case in point: Shield Casework partnered with Dimensional Innovations and an NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, to develop stunning solid surface lockers.

Modern sports locker rooms have evolved from simple changing areas to environments for relaxing and unwinding, with whirlpools, saunas and other spa-like amenities.

The heart of this luxury are the lockers themselves.The problem that many teams and designers run into is that good lockers are expensive and hard to find. It’s pricey to fit out a room with high-end lockers, but more and more, that’s the expectation for owners, teams and players. For what a good locker costs, it seems like there should be more included. But the more we looked, the more we saw options that we felt should be standard but that actually skyrocketed a locker’s price.

The second issue we looked at in our fabrication was material selection. Hardwoods are beautiful, but costly. Metal is hideous. Laminates and veneers break down in dirty, wet environments. Phenolic is durable but pricey and somehow still looks cheap in most installations.

The third issue our team tackled was customization. Most available locker products are bought off the shelf, with a six-to-eight-week wait. Since these are standard product lines, there is little-to-no ability to customize the design.

We decided there should be a better model. Working closely with our design partners and the end users, Shield created one-of-a-kind, completely custom, solid surface lockers that aren’t more expensive than other models you can buy, despite a premium appearance. It’s mass customization realized.

To think differently about how to create a locker, the Shield team brought our signature method from the company’s casework line to this product. Instead of keeping a set inventory, we used a flexible manufacturing process that focuses on the process of making a better box. This way, we can offer customization faster and cheaper.

Custom without costing

Designed for the Charlotte Hornets, these solid surface lockers showcase the return of the Hornets brand. Equally important are the features that work for both the needs of the team and each player. 

Most lockers are focused on one thing – the needs of the team – and the player gets one drawer to use for his or her personal belongings. The rest of the space is typically open or for the team’s display purposes. So where do you hang your suit? What do you do with your street clothes during a practice or workout?

Mixing the modern, clean look of white solid surface with the warmth of wood, the two areas of this locker design are easy to spot. The team zone’s minimal lines include glass and white solid surface, which contrasts with the player zone’s richer tones of walnut, complete with lined shelves and personalized accessories.

On the left, the team has their half, with space for an illuminated jersey to be prominently displayed. At the same time, the player still has an entire closet on the right for their suit and other belongings without taking any access away from the team manager.

It was important for the ownership and the design team to include both of these zones. According to the design team, the Hornets’ leadership wanted players to feel like their lockers were their own without sacrificing style or function for the team. The result is a custom solution that offers personalized treatment and puts tremendous thought put into every detail.

Best of all, Shield’s solid surface lockers only look expensive. Each unit was several thousand dollars less than a similar locker that was clad with solid surface, not constructed entirely from it. The high-quality finished appearance and custom features mean this locker is mass customization realized.

Timed just right

Timing was another project challenge for the Shield team. While the project officially began Aug. 1, it was shipped out Oct. 1.

This meant final design, engineering and manufacturing work for this brand-new product was completed simultaneously and in less than two months. Even installation was under a strict timeline: It had to wrap up by Oct. 10, in time for the first preseason game. 

Since there was only one chance to hit the timeline, digital prototyping was critical. The design team worked simultaneously with our staff to select hardware, refine details and test each aspect of the lockers in small stages. This flexible approach to product development prevented disruption between the conceptual design, engineering and manufacturing phases.

Custom doesn’t have be a dirty word in manufacturing anymore. Welcome to manufacturing of the future: the Industrial Revolution 3.0.