by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

How do you . . . break up a narrow and deep retail space into manageable zones?

Summary: As any parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or family friend knows, shopping with and for children is often an exhausting and frustrating experience. Attempting to return some of the fun to toy shopping, Ponte Mellor Architects Ltd. (PMA) has created an adolescent wonderland in the form of Child’s Play, an interactive retail store that is both parent- and child-friendly. Located in Rockville, Md., this is the second retail outlet for the company.

Whereas the original store is crammed with books and toys, leaving little room for children to explore or parents to shop, the new location was created with the intent to engage parents and children alike. The 2,531-square-foot store is divided into distinct “ecosystems,“ each with its representative color palette and animals interweaved into the design. The idea for the themed store was presented by PMA in the initial client meeting as a strategy to break up the narrow but deep space into manageable zones, yet also maximize the square footage for all of their retail fixtures, says Heidi Fitzharris, Assoc. AIA, project manager with PMA. “We were trying to make it engaging and interactive for the children, but also [give it a] more worldly aspect,” she says.

Five different ecosystems are unified by a pathway that wends customers through the space. The ocean is the first ecosystem encountered upon entering the store. The architect used flooring designed to look like water, with clown fish that were water-laser cut into the flooring. Other details include an island with a palm tree and a floating cloud that’s dropped below the exposed ceiling. From there, the customer transitions onto the beach, with pre-designed flooring and crabs that mark the pathway. The beach gives way to the rainforest, the centerpiece of the ecosystem theme. In the middle of the rainforest, located directly across from the cash register, sits a life-size imitation tree. Low-wattage fluorescent lighting in the leafy canopy simulates natural dappled sunlight and hopping frogs in the flooring inspire a playful spirit. In addition, a tunnel spans the tree’s width, serving the dual purposes of entertaining children and making the checkout process easier for parents by providing diversion for antsy children.

A lot in a little space
From the rainforest, customers move into the prairie, replete with bounding hares. The final ecosystem is a mountain region featuring a mural on the wall that was painted by one of the store’s employees, carpeting with accent colors that run through, and the exposed ceiling with floating 1x4 fluorescent lights that simulate birds in flight. “It’s a lot of design packed into a small space, and yet we also maximized their retail fixtures,” notes Fitzharris. To best meet the client’s needs in the tightly designed space, PMA also specified all of the fixturing and exterior signage.

Fitzharris says that expediency was a particular priority on this project. To help bring this project to quick fruition, PMA worked with its sister company, Estoril Construction, in a design-build arrangement. “The clients wanted to work with Estoril to help fast-track certain items, so we were able to continue working on the design while we were starting to work on budget numbers,” explains Fitzharris. “We also were able to order long-lead items such as the fixtures to help with the construction schedule.” Design began in late summer of 2006 and the project was completed in October of last year, in time for the Christmas shopping season.