Profit by design: Today's society has matured and expects well designed "everything"

Customers walking into big box retailers such as Target, Walmart or JC Penney would not expect to find an environment similar to Tiffany's or Saks. But as Bob Dylan once said, "The times they are a changing." Luxury retailers and retail centers have always had to have a design focus; utilitarian centers and discount/big box retailers however have until recently shied away from "design," believing it could scare away costumers looking for bargains. Society today, however, has matured and expects well designed "everything," from phones and coffee makers to cars and buildings. We demand the same attention to design from the environments we experience; beautiful new parks, St.scapes, as well as shopping malls and retail centers. Retailers and developers having realized this are revamping their prototypes, repositioning their centers and updating their branding. While good design is only one element in developing a successful retail project, it is increasingly becoming one of the most important, as customers demand and expect better shopping experiences. The attention to good design is evident in all types of retail and entertainment projects. Luxury retailers are hiring starchitects to design their flagships; big box retailers are developing new prototypes. Apple stores are as engaging as their products and Target's branding efforts are finally reflected in their stores. Through a major shift and refocus on priorities, Target developed new prototypes that creatively and whimsically use materials and forms that brought the architectural design experience inline with the branding message. Target's success has influenced other big box retailers such as Walmart and J.C. Penney. Walmart has gone through a branding redesign as well as new store prototype development. Its updated logo and color scheme is reflected in the look of its stores inside and out. In an effort to improve its brand identity J.C. Penney recently nabbed Ron Johnson from the trend setting Apple to be the new CEO. At Apple, Johnson served as senior vice president of retail and led the company's retail strategy including the launch and development of its cool and innovative stores. Johnson's charge will be to transform the rather sleepy image of J.C. Penney into a vibrant and relevant retailer. Home Depot's two Manhattan stores demonstrate the importance of good design. Both stores-one on 23rd St. and the other on 3rd Ave. and 59th St.-were designed around the same time and were the retailer's first venture into Manhattan. The 23rd St. location was designed and opened first and occupies three floors-ground, cellar and mezzanine-in three existing older buildings in a landmark district. The store was designed unlike any other Home Depot with the interior conceived as a loft on "steroids," accentuating the cast iron columns and existing skylight and windows, which allow natural light to penetrate the interior with the mezzanine having real windows that look out. Signage is limited and restrained as required by the landmark district. The 3rd Ave. store occupies three levels in the base of the newly constructed 55-story skyscraper at 731 Lexington Tower, with Bloomberg headquarters, multi million dollar apartments above and other retailers such as H&M and Container Store. Bloomingdales is on the next block to the north and Decorators and Designer buildings across the street. The entrance to the store is smaller and the interior treatment is rather plain. On paper the 3rd Ave. store had a much stronger location with stronger demographics in an existing retail neighborhood. However the mid-block 23rd St. proved to be where shoppers preferred to go. In fact the success of the 23rd St. store helped transform the whole block on both sides of 23rd St. into a vibrant retail strip. The days of utilitarian shopping are numbered; we are no longer satisfied by the poorly designed spaces and buildings. We expect everything to work well and look good, but we also get tired and constantly seek fresh ideas and experiences. This used to be limited for special occasions, but now it covers all our shopping experiences, including retailers that formerly put design in the back seat. Navid Maqami, AIA, LEED AP is principal, architecture at GreenbergFarrow, New York, N.Y.