Design central - Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design - Design Centers provide great services and are now opening around the country - Brief Article

Residential Architect, May, 2003 by Meghan Drueding

The best place to satisfy your--and your clients'--craving for beautiful furniture, lighting, and other residential products just may be your local design district. Developers all over the country are capitalizing on the public's hearty appetite for home style by creating mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly areas with a wealth of design-oriented shops and showrooms.

The Design Center of Austin, Texas, opened in 2001 at Penn Field, a former military base. "The idea was to provide a space the entire design community can use" says architect Michael Antenora, AIA, whose firm oversaw Penn Field's conversion into a walkable, mixed-use complex. In addition to offices and high-end retailers like Solux Design (lighting), Architerra (handcrafted tiles), and Alexander Marchant Specialty Hardware, the Design Center houses the Austin Museum of Digital Art.

This fall Chicago's venerable Merchandise Mart will move its kitchen, bath, and building products showrooms from the 13th floor of the building to the first, a move that's sure to lure more sidewalk traffic inside. And in March its sister company, the L.A. Mart, announced its partnership with the city of Los Angeles in creating a brand-new Furniture and Decorative Arts District in downtown L.A.

With the help of Washington, D.C., architects Sorg and Associates; Frank Schlesinger, FAIA; McInturff Architects; and Martinez & Johnson, developer EastBanc Inc. has turned a dilapidated block in the city's Georgetown neighborhood into a European-style mews. Known as Cady's Alley, the mixed-use project includes stores and showrooms like Ann Sacks, Poggenpohl, and Ligne Roset.

Miami developer Dacra has staked out an 18-square-block area and boldly named it the Miami Design District. New Urbanists Duany Plater-Zyberk drew up the District's master plan, and heavy hitters such as Knoll, Bulthaup, and Waterworks have opened up showrooms there. Art galleries and architects' offices also abound.

Let the shopping begin.--meghan drueding