Bloomingdale’s

Bloomingdale’s 338,000-square-foot flagship store, which opened in San Francisco’s Westfield Centre in September, took top honors in the New or Completely Renovated Full-Line Department Store category in the 2006 ISP/VM+SD International Store Design Competition.

Despite the size of the store, the luxury retailer – going through some re-imaging as part of Federated’s acquisition-and-consolidation program – says it was “designed to offer a more intimate and specialized shopping experience.” Drama and glamour are the bywords.

As in New York, Bloomingdale’s is trying to be a “can’t miss” for both San Francisco’s fashionable city dweller and its significant tourist trade.

The five levels, incorporating 253,000 square feet of selling space, were created as independent designs, each catering to a specific product category. Each floor also has its own display techniques, service components, music and even restroom designs.

So the Y.E.S. level on the third floor, housing contemporary women’s fashion, is modern and bright. Bridge and designer shops on the second floor incorporate Bloomingdale’s dramatic black signature. The men’s floor is finished in taupe and darker woods. And the street-level “B-Way,” with its black-and-white checkerboard flooring, recalls the iconic experience of the 59th Street, New York, flagship.

On the south wall of every floor is a glass curtain wall that lets natural daylight pour into the space, pulling traffic through the store. Escalators were placed in the rear of each floor to improve sightlines and offer more open space for vendors. Each shop was limited to 15 or 16 feet in depth, making shopping easier. The high (13-14-foot) ceilings further add to the openness of the space.

Client: Bloomingdale’s, New York – Jack Hruska, executive vp, creative services; Shan DiNapoli, vp, store design and planning; Diane Koester-Sibert, project director

Design/Architect: RYA Design Consultancy, Dallas — Tom Herndon, partner-in charge; Mike Wilkiins, creative director/partner; John Von Mohr Jr., senior designer

Claudene Anderson, project manager; Pam Kennedy, resource design director

Doug Russell, lighting; Steven Espinoza, lighting

Outside Design Consultants: Flack & Kurtz, San Francisco (MEP engineers)

Horton Lees Brogden, New York (lighting engineers)

Ceramic Tile: Innovative Marble & Tile Inc., HaUppauge, N.Y.

Ceiling Systems: Armstrong World Industries Inc., Lancaster, Pa.

Fixtures: Preferred Retail Solutions, Syosset, N.Y.

Moon Design Mfg., Vista, Calif.

Quantum Casework, Weston, Fla.

Mass Merchandising, Islandia, N.Y.

Flooring: Concept Surfaces, Dallas

Atlas Carpets, Los Angeles

Durkan, Dallas

Mohawk Carpets, Kennesaw, Ga.

Furniture: HBF, Hickory, N.C.

Bernhardt, Lenoir, N.C.

Vaughn Benz, Los Angeles

Barrett Hill, New York

David Edwards, Baltimore

Glass: Twin City Creative Mirror, Burnsville, Minn.

Lighting: Indy Lighting, Fishers, Inc.

Visual Lighting Technologies, Lake Forest, Calif.

RSA-Cooper Lighting, Van Nuys, Calif.

Millwork: Imperial Woodworking, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Woodworkers of Denver, Denver

Monarch Industries, Columbus, Ohio

TJ Hale, Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Plastic Laminates: Architectural Systems Inc., New York

Wallcoverings: National Wallcovering, Dallas

Carnegie, Rockville Center, N.Y.

Wolf Gordon, Long Island City, N.Y.

Trikes, Dallas

Maharam, Hauppauge, N.Y.

Art People, New York

Design Tex, New York

Knoll, E. Greenville, Pa.

Photography: Timothy Griffith, San Francisco