Paul Gregory lights Toys "R" Us's new flagship store

It's called the Center of the Toy Universe, and it's located at the Crossroads of the World: Retailer Toys "R" Us has opened a new 110,000-sq.-ft. (9,900 sq. m) flagship store in the middle of Times Square, at the corner of 44th Street and Broadway. It's a New York-scaled project designed and built by a group of New York City-based firms: architecture by Gensler; theming and retail design by J. Newbold Associates; audio-visual technology systems by Show & Tell Productions and Scharff Weisberg; construction by F.J. Sciame; construction management by Big Show; and lighting design by Focus Lighting. The centerpiece is a 60'-tall (18m) Ferris wheel, designed and built by Entech Creative Industries, that causes people to stop and stare, even in one of the world's most visually-congested areas.

The challenge, notes Paul Gregory, principal of Focus Lighting, is to compete with existing attractions such as ABC's Good Morning America studio and the facade of NASDAQ MarketSite, both of which feature enormous LED displays. As with all of his designs, Gregory is very concerned with that all-important first look. "When you see Toys 'R' Us, what image do you remember?" he asks. "First, an exciting exterior; second, a view through to the Ferris wheel."

However, the Ferris wheel is not always visible, which is part of Gregory's design plan. "Rather than compete with the flash and glitter of Times Square, we decided to throw a large sheet over Gensler's glass box building, then take the sheet away and expose the interior of the store and the Ferris wheel," says Gregory. It's a unique effect: 165 oversized color scrollers, manufactured by Diazit, were placed on the inside of the glass facade. Each scroller measures 6'x5' (1.8x1.5m) and contains six frames of polyester fabric. Each frame can be reprinted as often as desired. The images created by these scrollers result in what Gregory calls "the biggest billboard in the world, stretching almost 200' (60m) in length;" in fact, they function as advertising support for products and special events in the store.

To illuminate the images created by the scrollers, 51 metal-halide 1,000W Wide-Lite F-series arena-style floodlights, with custom mechanical dousers, bathe the exterior with light. The fixtures are cantilevered from the top of the facade. "The dousers are used when the scrollers go to clear," explains Diana Ades, senior designer for Focus Lighting. "The scrollers are on the inside of the glass, yet they need to be kept dry, so there is a heating system to keep condensation from forming on the glass." Show & Tell Productions engineered the programming of the scrollers, which can work in conjunction with a 9'-high by 48'-wide (2.7¥14.4m) curved interactive SmartVision LED display that juts out over the sidewalk.

The main entrance to the store glitters with 50W MR-16 lamps recessed into the steel-and-chrome overhead canopy. The fixtures are by Liton, with GAM Products' GamChroics glass color filters in Toys "R" Us's signature colors of red (GD245), yellow (GD450), blue (GD835), green (GD680), pink (GD120), and orange (GD320), programmed to chase with three or four different sequences for a kinetic look. "The idea was to make the entry the most important part of the facade," says Gregory. "The color patterns on the ground are visible day and night."

continued on next page > click here
read about sepp > click here
press main page > click here