Scottsdale, AZ, May 1, 1997 - - Associates in Architecture and Design (AAD), whose innovative architectural work has been an integral component of such highly successful ventures as Planet Hollywood and Warner Bros. Studio Stores, is in the process of transforming an antiquated building on the University of Illinois campus into the college bookstore of the future for Follett College Book Stores. In an association with Adrienne Weiss Corporation and Edwards Technologies, AAD is creating the flagship for Follett with a goal of completely redefining and re-imaging the retail college bookstore environment.

Set to open in July 1997, the prototype store, with its eye-catching design, is meant to be provocative and contemporary. The store's exterior, replete with glass tower and animated neon sign, contrasts the decidedly low-tech bookstore of times past. Inside, the focal point of the 22,000 square foot space is a 20 x 30 foot high tech cyberwall, the largest of its kind in the world.

An ever-changing array of video LED's featuring sports, television programming and product showcasing will be displayed on the cyberwall's screens. In keeping with the store's decidedly high-tech motif are Internet stations and strategically-placed video screens that will be utilized as point-of-purchase displays as well.

The Follett flagship is being designed by AAD as a series of stores-within-the store built around a central nucleus or gathering place. Each of these themed "pods" will be an environment unto itself. Each pod will feature video, graphics, displays and merchandise that speak to a specific theme. For example, the Bio Science Pod will feature required textbooks and suggested reading on the subject, as well as smocks, goggles and lab coats available for purchase. The goal of the pod concept is to create unique environments where people with similar interests can interact with each other.

Though the store is a vibrant showcase of technological advancement, it is also being designed to be a comfortable place for social gathering. The store will offer overstuffed seating throughout, as well as a cybercafe/coffee bar for students and teachers to relax and gather.

Since textbook sales generated during a few weeks in the spring and fall account for roughly 80% of Follett's annual sales, the design team was challenged to create an environment that is flexible enough and inviting enough to generate sales year-round. Throughout the year, major transformations will take place as a result of flexible fixturing, configuration, graphics and displays. Another key element in these transformations will be creative applications of the cyberwall that will be changed seasonally. For homecoming weekend, during which a large number of alumni returns to campus, the entire store will be reconfigured for the nostalgia market can reflect a nostalgic

"The beauty of this design is in its versatility," says AAD principal Carl Schaffer. It incorporates a nucleus or social gathering place in a provocative, yet comfortable, selling environment that goes beyond the traditional bookstore through an imaginative use of technologies."

For more than two decades, Associates in Architecture & Design has been providing architectural and interior design services for a large number of high profile clients in the retail and food service industries. During that time, the firm has earned a reputation for creating imaginative environments that attract enormous consumer attention and generate successes that often exceed the projections of the firm's prestigious client base. Large scale projects for Imaginarium, Universal Studios Hollywood and Marriott Host are among the more than 500 recent projects that have brought the firm to international prominence. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, AAD was recently named one of the nation's top ten design firms by VMSD magazine and top 100 firms by Interior Design.
# # #

Back to: Background: Associates in Architecture & Design, Ltd.