Boulevard to Boulevard: Connecting Retail Neighborhoods

Challenge

The massive complex of high-end retail shops, originally built in 2008 at 320,000 square feet, had already outgrown its footprint. The objective given to us in 2012 by DFS was to prepare the master space planning and interior design for its substantial expansion to 420,000 square feet of the luxury-brand retail space, common areas, and personal concierge service venues. The property also includes a world-class casino, four luxury hotels, entertainment theaters, and food and beverage offerings.

Our main challenge was the immense scale of the property, both in length and volume. The overall goal was to expand, upgrade, and revitalize the retail boulevards surrounding the casino, while more effectively connecting the hotels, thus enticing the savvy international traveler and gaming enthusiast with innovative retail experiences.

SOLUTION

In partnership with architects Woods-Bagot and DFS Group (an LVMH Group company), we designed a retail experience offering curated merchandise, integrated with relevant concierge services. A key element was the seamless integration of the DFS brand code into the environment, while introducing the newly defined T Galleria into the planned retail boulevards. We broke the significantly long (3,280-foot) retail boulevards into “neighborhoods”—focused zones of related merchandise—utilizing urban-planning principles such as “placemaking” to enhance the customer’s experience. With a sequence of smaller-scaled esplanades, customers could now sense a more navigable scale. We designed a series of bold portals as transitions from boulevard to boulevard. Each esplanade was given its own personality, via unique neutral piers between shops, and common-area details and finishes.

To keep the escalators from being too lengthy, we designed intermediate landings between floors. Where two major boulevards intersect, we designed a multi-tier grand staircase with individually lit risers and splayed escalators inviting customers to the mezzanine level. This broadly scaled stair is surrounded by numerous fashion authority luxury brands in leather and accessories. Beneath the mezzanine is T Galleria’s first 24,800-square-foot Women’s Shoe Department, with over 1,800 styles on display. Overhead is a Rest & Refresh Mezzanine Bar between the upper-level Men’s Store. In front of the staircase is an expansive plaza, recalling the richly patterned town squares of Europe—a place for staging community activities, events, and promotions.