2008 Awards for Retail Design Feature the Leaders of the Pack!

On March 18 in Chicago, 43 outstanding projects took home 62 awards in 17 categories from in front of a crowd of 500 industry leaders. The 2008 Awards recognized store and shop designs, pop–up stores, and individual store fixtures, visual presentations, and special installations. In addition, 10 retail projects received special recognition for green awareness, kicking off a new competition (more on that to come)!

The 38th year of the Retail Design Awards marked a transition year for the event (formerly known as the NASFM Retail Design Awards). Moving forward, the program will have a new name and logo befitting the new identity of its producer, the Association for Retail Environments. Look for information on the A.R.E. Design Awards this fall, and be sure to mark your calendars for next year�s early–bird deadline–Dec. 15, 2008.

Details and more images of this year’s winners are available all year at www.retailenvironments.org. Look for the A.R.E. logos next to contributing companies throughout this publication and online. The logos identify supplier and designer members of A.R.E. Online, member companies are linked to their individual company profile pages, making it easy to contact companies with award–winning track records.

2008 Store of the Year
Supermarket/Grocery Store
Grand Prize LandmarkManila, Philippines

Architecture/Design: Hugh A. Boyd, Architects, Montclair, N.J.
Fixtures: FABTECH, Quezon City, Philippines
Fixtures: Hussmann Tempcool, Singapore
Fixtures: Ramler Contract, Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia
Fixtures: Target Display Co. Inc., Makati City, Philippines
General Contracting: Geostructures Constech Inc., Quezon City, Philippines
Photography: 2nd Storey Studios, Quezon City, Philippines
Retailer: The Landmark Corp., Makati City, Philippines
Visual Elements: Leslie Evans Design Associates (LEDA), Cape Elizabeth, Maine

This design creates an inviting space in a low–ceiling basement for Philippines–based supermarket retailer Landmark. Emphasizing the latest technology and food display in a cutting–edge environment, this store of the year features serpentine shapes and ovals to break a large, 94,000–sq.–ft. store into more intimate zones.

From cut–out ceilings that wave through aisles to serpentine display cases that flow just beneath them to the rounded endcap shelving, the linear store is full of energy and motion. Oval–shaped pods near the store entrance conceal storage for 900 shopping carts; a jewel–like, glass–enclosed island highlights a wine department; and a series of curving paths break up seating in the 51,000–sq.–ft. food court. With 11–ft.–high ceilings, a series of light–colored, floating planes suspended below the exposed ceiling structure, which is painted in dark–colors, create a sense of spaciousness. Without natural light, energy–efficient metal halide and fluorescent light fixtures create theatrical focuses in the space.