E-Design techniques are shaping real estate development

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 10, 2001 by Jay Haverson

The overwhelming theme at the annual meeting of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) in Washington, recently, was the significance of the 24-hour city. In two days of presentations, three different economists and futurists described the importance of a 24-hour environment in attracting the intellectual capital required to power today's "E" economy. "Intellectual capital is the most important ingredient to the success of business today, and the intellectual capital wants to live, work, and be entertained in the same place," said Mr. David Agnew, Chairman of the organization, in summary.

Whether it's a single building, or a multi-use complex in today's 24-hour city, or a component of corporate branding in a headquarters facility, the ability to incorporate "Entertainment" into architectural and interior design, a concept we've termed "E-Design," is becoming an increasingly larger part of the real estate development landscape. Twenty-first-century E-Design is a dramatic departure from the venues popularized in the eighties and nineties. It is interactive, stimulating to all five senses, and immersive. Successful E-Projects become destination points in and of themselves. People gravitate towards E-Design because it provides them with an opportunity to journey beyond their everyday experience.

We were pleased to have served as associate architects of one of the region's most visible and, based on its 95% occupancy rate, successful, E-Complexes," the 450,000-SF retail and entertainment component of New Roc City in New Rochelle. Our firm was specifically tasked with augmenting the original master plan and conceptualizing and developing the E-Design that gives this component of the 1.2-million-sq.-ft development its particular "character."

In designing this complex, our objective was to create an immersive, funfilled, illusionary place, familiar in some ways and new and surprising in others. Within a complex reminiscent of an urban city, visitors can zoom into the heavens on an amusement ride, play games, sit under a summer sky, have lunch or dinner, go shopping, catch a hockey game, or skate on the pond in "Central Park". There are activities for children of all ages, including: bowling, batting cages, laser tag; a state-of-the-art midway; a kid's playscape and carousel; a billiards room; restaurants, and meeting and party rooms.

The components of each E-design project will differ from market to market, and in many ways be dictated by its end-use. As an example, GM World, the 40,000-square-foot, interactive showroom located in the public space at the Renaissance Center, that we recently completed for the General Motors' Global Headquarters in Detroit, has been conceived as both a showcase for the company's products and as a destination point for Detroit visitors. The GM "brand" story is told through 22 vignettes grouped into four lifestyle sections: "Family and Neighborhood," "Outdoors," "Sports Enthusiast," and "Touring and Luxury." The vignettes, animated with a combination of: eye-catching graphics; audio-visual effects; illuminated and animated water features, and environmental elements such rain, wind, and fog, provide visitors an extraordinary opportunity to view and interact with the company's diverse line of global brands.

In any venue, however, good E-Design requires certain considerations that can leverage the success of the project. They are:

An open-minded client. The original vision of our client, Louis Cappelli, of Cappelli Enterprises, was to theme the E-Design to reflect classic New York City landmark buildings. While we felt that the re-creation of an "urban" environment within the suburban context of New Rochelle would work, at the same time, we felt that the location, only 25 miles outside of New York, better lent itself to a more anonymous architectural interpretation of urban life, somewhat idealized, but certainly familiar.

An environment that creates expectations. Once visitors enter a venue based on E-Design, they should become immersed in it -- transported until they're ready to leave -- into another place all together. They should also be surprised by the unexpected. At New Roc City, for instance, the arcades are set atop a series of roofscapes, each with its own distinctive look and designed to feel as if they are hovering above ground up in mid-air. The compelling imagery of the roofscape is further enhanced by a unique color sensibility that surrealistically captures the imperceptible moment that occurs between night and day.

An environment that is consistent. New Street, our newly created pedestrian walkway, replicates a vintage city street complete with cobblestones, fire hydrants, newsstands, street lamps and benches. The glass-enclosed span that connects the parking garage to the third floor retail resembles a mini suspension bridge. On the ground floor, our "Central Park," sits amid a backdrop of urban landscapes. Within the "park" the Pro Shop recalls the Victorian Gothic "folly" near the Sheep Meadow. The entry "kiosks" are small canopy structures one would expect to find as concessions inside the park. A rock-climbing wall is set within scenic rock forms. Lighting dappled among trees and building elements infuses the sky, reinforcing the illusion of a romantic and magical day time setting.