design:retail - October 2017 - 38

038

↓ The design of
this Capital One
flagship adds to
the energy of its
Union Square
location with
an eye-catching
LED wall.
→ A glassenclosed
staircase guides
customers to
the second level,
serving as the
gateway to the
branch.

OCTOBER 2017

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

hen you are thinking of a location for a
quick business meeting, a spot to grab
a cup of coffee or a place to access Wi-Fi
and get a little work done, does a bank come
to mind? Capital One and Baltimore-based
CallisonRTKL have brought a new banking
experience to New York's Union Square in the
form of a 12,000-sq.-ft. flagship branch location, an experience that adds to the energy and
activity of this vibrant new gathering space consumers will want to check out.
"We began working with Capital One in 2012,"
says Cris Gunter, CallisonRTKL's senior associate vice
president and Capital One account manager. "Previous
projects have explored many different concepts, but
the bank really wanted to pull away from a traditional
format with this space. This was an opportunity to
bring all of the ideas together for this flagship location."
The Union Square area is a bustling hub of activity, including farmer's markets, rallies and art shows.
The prominent corner location allows the building
to overlook all of this activity, and the steady stream
of traffic due to the adjacent subway exit adds to the
excitement of the locale.
While the building offered the perfect strategic
real estate, it was not without its challenges. The
three-story space was previously demised for separate uses; it had never been used by one tenant. As a

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

result, the team needed to work within the structure
to create sufficient public access, egress and circulation, while working around abnormal column and
beam placements and varying ceiling heights. The
architecture team had to "thread" in the staircases for
vertical circulation, Gunter explains.
The goal of the project was to make the most of
this high-traffic, high-visibility corner to showcase
Capital One's vision of treating a bank branch differently, a unique experience for customers and a true
differentiator from the competition.
"The location in Union Square offers space for
customers, neighborhood and community members/
partners to use should they need a work or meeting
space," says China Fowler, design strategy, senior
manager, Capital One. "The space is designed to continually give new experiences each time you walk
through-from little messages and moments that
make you feel good about what you're doing there, to
an interactive, visual-forward ethos that inspires you
to do things on your own terms."
Whether entering from East 14th Street or on the
Broadway side, visitors are quickly oriented within
the space and are able to establish a sense of place.
From either entry point, there are direct views to
Peet's Coffee & Tea anchoring the experience at the
rear of the ground-level floorplan. Lighting and
flooring applications subtly guide visitors toward
the coffee shop, with banks of ATMs easily accessible
at either entry. The ceiling on the ground floor is a
high, exposed structure, which the team finished in
charcoal gray to accentuate the sense of volume. A
communal area with barstool perches overlooks the
street activity and park, providing space to linger, access Wi-Fi and enjoy a cup of coffee. "It is an active
area for people to talk and meet, a vibrant ground
level and mezzanine," Gunter describes.
While the eye is directed to Peet's toward the rear,
a dramatic, glass-enclosed "threaded" staircase is
located at mid-plan and allows visitors to move upstairs, a gateway to the branch, or downstairs to staff
areas and bank operations, including training spaces
and a break room. A wood-slat feature wall serves
as the backdrop for the staircase. It includes a subtle
oversized embossing of the Capital One "boom" logo
achieved with a reversal of woodgrain. On the front
side of the stairs, three-dimensional brand signage is
mounted on clear glass.

http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

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