The airport experience has evolved over the years in an attempt to ease the tribulations associated with air travel. Airports are no longer defined by fast-food restaurants and duty-free shops; they have become something more akin to shopping malls, with luxury retail stores and expensive, sit-down restaurants.
Exhibit A: The first Johnnie Walker store in the U.S. recently opened in Miami International Airport’s North Terminal. In addition to purchasing Johnnie Walker products, the 1,145-sf store creates a museum-like experience for customers to learn more about the brand.
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
“The design immerses customers in the history, provenance, and pioneering spirit of the Johnnie Walker brand,” says Darin Held, Partner at Bloommiami, the firm that served as design consultants, fabricators and project managers for the store.
At the tasting bar, guests can sample various whiskeys and use iPads that provide additional information about Johnnie Walker products. Also working to create a museum-like ambiance was the lighting, which includes stretch fabric ceiling canopies, edge lighted shelves and backlighted product glorification pads.
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
Other design features include a Johnnie Walker Striding Man Statue, large wall-to-wall light box with images inspired by Miami, museum-style images depicting the history of Johnnie Walker, an engraving station where customers can personalize bottles, intricate floor work that took 56 hours to install, and a single malts library display wall designed to mimic a mixer’s lab.
See Also: The Hershey Company moves into new 7,800-sf flagship retail location in Time Square
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
Photo: Shelby Soblick.
Related Stories
| Feb 8, 2012
Mega-malls expanding internationally
Historically, malls have always been the icons of America – the first mall ever was built in Minneapolis in 1956.
| Jan 15, 2012
Smith Consulting Architects designs Flower Hill Promenade expansion in Del Mar, Calif.
The $22 million expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot, two-story retail/office building and a 397-car parking structure, along with parking and circulation improvements and new landscaping throughout.
| Jan 6, 2012
New Walgreen's represents an architectural departure
The structure's exterior is a major departure from the corporate image of a traditional Walgreens design.
| Jan 6, 2012
Summit Design+Build completes Park Place in Illinois
Summit was responsible for the complete gut and renovation of the former auto repair shop which required the partial demolition of the existing building, while maintaining the integrity of the original 100 year-old structure, and significant re-grading and landscaping of the site.
| Nov 29, 2011
Suffolk Construction breaks ground on Boston residential tower
Millennium Place III is a $220 million, 256-unit development that will occupy a full city block in Boston’s Downtown Crossing.
| Nov 29, 2011
Report finds credit crunch accounts for 20% of nation’s stalled projects
Persistent financing crunch continues to plague design and construction sector.
| Nov 22, 2011
Jones Lang LaSalle completes construction of two new stores in Manhattan
Firm creates new global design standard serving as project manager for Uniglo’s 89,000-sf flagship location and, 64,000-sf store.
| Oct 26, 2011
Shawmut Design and Construction awarded Tag Heuer build in Aventura, Fla.
New store features 1,200 sf fit out at Aventura Mall.
| Oct 3, 2011
Magellan Development Group opens Village Market in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood
Magellan Development Group and Hanwha Engineering & Construction are joint-venture development partners on the project. The Village Market was designed for Silver LEED certification by Loewenberg Architects and built by McHugh Construction.
