Contract - July/August 2011 - (Page 111)

Designed by Elliott to be luxurious without being intimidating, the Balliets interior has a palette of creamy colors and both rough and smooth textures. Sandblasted pine lines the walls (opposite) as well as the underside of the stairs (this page). display cabinets are white oak, and the floors are polished travertine. Recessed fluorescents provide ambient lighting, alternating with MR16 halogen accent lights. The combination of fixtures with different lamping and natural daylight balances out perfectly to ensure accurate color registration of the merchandise. The 10,000-square-foot main floor, open in plan, is an 18-foot-tall space. Mobile display units can easily be reconfigured to accommodate the ebb and flow of the fashion business, and an axial concourse serves as a runway for trunk shows. The jewelry counter is positioned close to the main entrance to make it easily accessible to male shoppers. A central staircase of broad travertine treads, an oak handrail, and glass balustrade invite shoppers to ascend and bring a note of ceremony to the experience. A 30-foottall central atrium allows for a spacious and light feeling, as well as a glimpse of the second floor. The 7,000-square-foot second floor includes cosmetics and fragrances. The cosmetics area is configured into a studio concept, offering an intimate, more private beauty experience with its own elevator, restroom, refreshment area, covered terrace, and a spa boasting travertine showers and river-rock floors. Learning from Mies screens behind the merchandise displays filter in daylight; at night, they become scrims for projecting still and video images. A row of windows near the top of the building provides ample light for the second floor. Before the move, Balliets struggled to survive on the third floor of an office building in a dark, low-ceiling volume. Thus, the new store interior is an upscale, luminous, and airy turnaround. “We gave them a space of timeless elegance that wouldn’t go out of fashion,” says Elliott. “Women are much more attuned to color, texture, aroma, and light than men will ever be, so we tried to offer a sensory experience.” The store had to feel luxurious without intimidating because Benham was determined to reach out to a younger, less affluent clientele without forfeiting the loyalty of regular customers. The architects achieved these goals by employing soft textures and a creamy palette, which are both tactile and soothing. Walls are paneled in sandblasted pine, Elliott shares Mies van der Rohe’s belief that details are crucial. The stockroom door is painted lipstick red, a color accent that picks up on the red dot in the Balliets logo. Richly patterned granite countertops in cosmetics add another subtle focal point. A brushed-aluminum double canopy over the sales counter encourages customer and staff interaction. Elliott imported a New York music consultant to calibrate sound for different times of day. The new location has allowed for the Balliets store to exceed Benham’s optimistic expectations in a variety of ways. “Sales are up 40 percent,” says Benham. “Different ages cross-shop the store to a greater extent than we had imagined, and the readers of Oklahoma magazine voted Balliets as the city’s best department store.” Balliets. Architect Elliott + Associates Architects. Client Chesapeake Energy (development), Robert and DeDe Benham (Balliets). Where Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. What 17,000 total square feet on two floors. Cost/sf $198. For a full project source list, see page 132 or www.contractdesign.com. www.contractdesign.com contract july/august 2011 111 http://www.contractdesign.com http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - July/August 2011

Contract - July/August 2011
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Focus: Change it Up
Product Focus: Angling for Attention
Product Focus: (Good) Writing on the Wall
Product Focus: Come Together
Best of NeoCon® 2011
Making a Marc
Becoming Kate
Ray of Light
True Blue
Nature Speaks
A New Home
Bloomie's New Edition
Shring to Fitness
Practice: Smaller, Sustainable Retail
Trends: Retail Retrofit
Designers Select: Fabrics
Sources
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - July/August 2011