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News Release from: Gensler | Subject: American Girl Place
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 November 2003
Gensler designs setting at American Girl
Place
American Girl Place, retail and entertainment destination designed by Gensler, opens in New York's Rockefeller Center area.
American Girl Place, New York, a new 43,000-square-foot retail and entertainment destination designed by Gensler Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide, opens November 8, 2003 in New York's Rockefeller Center area From the ground floor bookstore to the whimsical cafe, every design detail immerses visitors in the experience of the enormously popular American Girl dolls, books, clothes, and accessories for girls 3 to12
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 28 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The five-floor store, located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street, includes retail boutiques, a cafe, and an intimate theater on the first three floors and mezzanine, with office, support, and storage functions on the fifth and basement levels.
In addition to interior design and architecture services, Gensler provided graphic design services and custom design services for fixtures and furnishings.
Vanguard Construction and Development is the construction manager.
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"Gensler's mission," said John Bricker, Gensler's design director for the project, "was to create a place that would combine the educational with the entertainment objectives of the American Girl brand through experiences that celebrate girlhood, affirm self-esteem, and enhance mother-daughter relationships".
He added, "It's less about shopping than it is about having an interactive, meaningful experience." "We are thrilled to bring American Girl Place to New York and to one of the world's most prestigious shopping districts," said Ellen L.
Brothers, president of Pleasant Company's American Girl brands.
"Gensler's design infuses the sophistication and excitement of New York City into the American Girl experience".
One of the top direct marketers and children's publishers in the nation, American Girl opened its first phenomenally successful retail space in Chicago in 1998.
American Girl Place New York provides a similar look and feel as the Chicago store, yet it features unique elements so that girls and their families may enjoy visiting both locations.
With the store's prominent street level presence, American Girl establishes its brand even before the visitor enters the building.
"No detail was overlooked to communicate the spirit of American Girl," said Bricker.
Awnings in the brand's signature berry red color adorn the windows, twenty-foot-high windows invitingly reveal the interiors to passers-by, and etched stars, referencing the American Girl logo, appear in the top portion of the windows.
Working closely with Pleasant Company, Gensler customized furnishings and fixtures, including lighting, carpet, and fabrics, to provide whimsical touches in keeping with the brand.
In some cases, the new designs even inspired new packaging and branding solutions for American Girl products.
The American Girl star motif occurs playfully throughout the interior: on the custom-designed carpeting in the American Girl theater, within the main floor and theater lighting fixtures, and in cutouts on the library lampshades.
Two 13-feet-in-diameter star-shaped chandeliers, which provide both lighting and signage on the main floor, were specially designed by Gensler for a dramatic effect from the street.
Interior graphics and systems, such as custom-designed gold frames that hold mission statements for each American Girl sub-brand and elegant gold-cut letterforms for way finding, provide traditional accents.
First built in 1925 as a department store, the 13-story building's wide, column-free spaces and high ceilings allowed Gensler to design both cozy corners and grand atriums.
Circulation areas feature comfortable seating areas for moms to take a break or read with their girls.
Carefully planned walkways, restrooms, elevators, and seats were designed to accommodate strollers, parents, and children of all sizes.
Details such as terrazzo flooring in primary circulation areas and heavy cornice molding at the ceilings create a traditional flavor in keeping with the brand and its sophisticated surroundings.
The ground floor and mezzanine levels house various retail spaces for American Girl brands as well as a 1950s-style Doll Hair Salon, Doll Hospital admissions (for repair of "injured" dolls), a coat check, gift-wrap station, and concierge services.
Although books are integrated into several other parts of the store, the bookstore is located prominently on the ground floor, encouraging girls and their mothers to sit and read or shop for books.
The second floor features The American Girl Collection.
Here the "Peek Into the Past" historical exhibits bring the long-ago worlds of all the American Girl characters to life with authentically re-created dioramas of their worlds.
This floor also houses the 133-seat live-action theater featuring an original musical revue that embodies the lessons and values that lie at the heart of the American Girl stories.
On the top floor, the 161-seat American Girl Cafe continues this feast of detail.
The Maitre d' opens padded double doors at scheduled seating times to reveal a room with black-and-white striped walls, berry accents, and custom-designed features such as daisy-patterned upholstery, beaded hanging lamps, and even flower-shaped buttons that adorn the backs of chairs.
It is yet another occasion within American Girl Place New York for mothers and daughters to create lasting memories.
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