Project Information
Description of Entry
iFLY, the innovator of indoor skydiving, is an experiential retail concept expanding rapidly to new markets throughout the US and internationally. iFLY has developed the technology to bring the skydiving experience safely to users of all ages. As shopping centers seek to include experiential retail within their tenant mix, iFLY is a prime example of an experience that cannot be purchased online and brings consumers out to retail centers.
The design intent for the new Ifly building is to create an engaging, distinctive architectural expression that communicates beauty and exhilaration of the dream of flying to visitors and passers-by alike. A cool, nuanced color palette combined with soft, curved lines and interesting building geometry will serve to create an iconic, compelling architectural presentation. At the pedestrian level, vivid contrasting coloration along with playful environmental graphics create a strong, highly detailed invitation to visitors.
In addition to providing a safe, healthy, exciting pastime opportunity into the surrounding communities, the introduction of an iFLY enhances the experiential richness of the area by contributing to the goal of creating usable, active, thriving commercial spaces. When viewed from afar, the design of the facility becomes a neighborhood icon, reflective of the vitality of the community. When experienced up-close, the interesting building geometry coupled with its softly curved lines and sophisticated color palette creates a strong invitation to visitors and contribute to an exciting, human-scaled addition to the local neighborhood fabric.
Shopping Center Information
Type of Project
Other
Physical Characteristics of Project
Other
Total Acreage of Site
Total Acreage of Site
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference: plus or (minus) | Number of Levels |
Other Uses: Office
Other Uses: Hotel
Other Uses: Residential
Other Uses: Residential
Other Uses
Other Uses
Trade Area/Cachement Area Information
Project Trade Area
Population of Primary Trade Area | Population of Secondary Trade Area | Annualized percentage of shoppers anticipated being from outside of trade area (e.g., tourists, conventioneers) |
Retail Information
Total Retail Space
Total Acreage of Site
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference-Plus or (minus) |
Gross Leasable Area (small shop excluding anchors)
Gross Leasable Area (small shop excluding anchors)
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference-Plus or (minus) | Total Number of Retail Stores (excluding anchors) |
Total Number of Retail Stores (including anchors)
Major Tenants
Parking Information
Number of Parking Spaces Provided
Deck Parking
If deck parking, list vehicle capacity and number of levels of parking structure and briefly describe how structure connects to center.
How many parking space are required by code?
Development Schedule
Original Project Opening Date
Official Project Opening Date
Current renovation expansion opening date
Professional Recognition
Development Company
Owner
Production or Executive Architect
Graphic Designer
Lighting Designer
Landscape Architect
General Contractor
Management Company
Finance Company
Summary
Entry Summary
Describe the characteristics of the project you are submitting for an award.
In what ways do you feel that other developers can benefit from your experience?
Was this project a public-private partnership or joint effort with a governmental entity? If so, what is the name of that agency, and what was the nature of their involvement in the project?
Describe the financing involved in the project.
If you had this project to do over again, what would you do differently? Why?
Renovations / Expansions
Explain why the owner decided to renovate or expand. Include a description of the existing conditions prior to renovation or expansion (physical conditions, sales, tenant mix, vacancy factor and the like)
Describe how the renovation or expansion altered those conditions.
What do you believe to be the key reasons for the success of the project? Why?
How did you determine the business success of the project? (Cite 'before' and 'after' statistics to back up the claim.)
If the center was kept open during construction, explain what measures were taken to ensure shopper safety and main shopper traffic, and what impact the work had on business.
In addition to the physical improvements, what ancillary measures were taken to enhance the center?
Describe any new marketing and/or re-leasing approaches successfully implemented during the period.
If yes, at what level?
Describe the project's central approach to sustainability such as energy and water use, the internal environment, pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes.
Supporting Marterials
Documentation
Tenant Mix / Merchandising Plan
Maps / Floor Plan
Photo Gallery
Audio / Video
Project Information
Description of Entry
iFLY, the innovator of indoor skydiving, is an experiential retail concept expanding rapidly to new markets throughout the US and internationally. iFLY has developed the technology to bring the skydiving experience safely to users of all ages. As shopping centers seek to include experiential retail within their tenant mix, iFLY is a prime example of an experience that cannot be purchased online and brings consumers out to retail centers.
The design intent for the new Ifly building is to create an engaging, distinctive architectural expression that communicates beauty and exhilaration of the dream of flying to visitors and passers-by alike. A cool, nuanced color palette combined with soft, curved lines and interesting building geometry will serve to create an iconic, compelling architectural presentation. At the pedestrian level, vivid contrasting coloration along with playful environmental graphics create a strong, highly detailed invitation to visitors.
In addition to providing a safe, healthy, exciting pastime opportunity into the surrounding communities, the introduction of an iFLY enhances the experiential richness of the area by contributing to the goal of creating usable, active, thriving commercial spaces. When viewed from afar, the design of the facility becomes a neighborhood icon, reflective of the vitality of the community. When experienced up-close, the interesting building geometry coupled with its softly curved lines and sophisticated color palette creates a strong invitation to visitors and contribute to an exciting, human-scaled addition to the local neighborhood fabric.
Shopping Center Information
Type of Project
Other
Physical Characteristics of Project
Other
Total Acreage of Site
Total Acreage of Site
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference: plus or (minus) | Number of Levels |
Other Uses: Office
Other Uses: Hotel
Other Uses: Residential
Other Uses: Residential
Other Uses
Other Uses
Trade Area/Cachement Area Information
Project Trade Area
Population of Primary Trade Area | Population of Secondary Trade Area | Annualized percentage of shoppers anticipated being from outside of trade area (e.g., tourists, conventioneers) |
Retail Information
Total Retail Space
Total Acreage of Site
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference-Plus or (minus) |
Gross Leasable Area (small shop excluding anchors)
Gross Leasable Area (small shop excluding anchors)
Before Renovation / Expansion | After Renovation / Expansion | Net Difference-Plus or (minus) | Total Number of Retail Stores (excluding anchors) |
Total Number of Retail Stores (including anchors)
Major Tenants
Parking Information
Number of Parking Spaces Provided
Deck Parking
If deck parking, list vehicle capacity and number of levels of parking structure and briefly describe how structure connects to center.
How many parking space are required by code?
Development Schedule
Original Project Opening Date
Official Project Opening Date
Professional Recognition
Development Company
Owner
Production or Executive Architect
Graphic Designer
Lighting Designer
Landscape Architect
General Contractor
Management Company
Finance Company
Summary
Entry Summary
Describe the characteristics of the project you are submitting for an award.
In what ways do you feel that other developers can benefit from your experience?
Was this project a public-private partnership or joint effort with a governmental entity? If so, what is the name of that agency, and what was the nature of their involvement in the project?
Describe the financing involved in the project.
If you had this project to do over again, what would you do differently? Why?
New Developments
Explain what specific design and construction problems were solved or how new standards in the areas of design and construction were established.
Describe what you feel to be the key reasons for the success of the project (environmental enhancements, space utilization, construction costs, and the like).
Was the developer required to make an investment in the community? If so, explain what had to be done and what the impact was on the community.
Sustainable Design
Is your project ISO, LEED, ARUP or BREEAM certified?
If yes, at what level?
Describe the project's central approach to sustainability such as energy and water use, the internal environment, pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes.
Supporting Marterials
Documentation
Tenant Mix / Merchandising Plan
Maps / Floor Plan
Photo Gallery
Audio / Video
Description of Entry
iFLY, the innovator of indoor skydiving, is an experiential retail concept expanding rapidly to new markets throughout the US and internationally. iFLY has developed the technology to bring the skydiving experience safely to users of all ages. As shopping centers seek to include experiential retail within their tenant mix, iFLY is a prime example of an experience that cannot be purchased online and brings consumers out to retail centers.
The design intent for the new Ifly building is to create an engaging, distinctive architectural expression that communicates beauty and exhilaration of the dream of flying to visitors and passers-by alike. A cool, nuanced color palette combined with soft, curved lines and interesting building geometry will serve to create an iconic, compelling architectural presentation. At the pedestrian level, vivid contrasting coloration along with playful environmental graphics create a strong, highly detailed invitation to visitors.
In addition to providing a safe, healthy, exciting pastime opportunity into the surrounding communities, the introduction of an iFLY enhances the experiential richness of the area by contributing to the goal of creating usable, active, thriving commercial spaces. When viewed from afar, the design of the facility becomes a neighborhood icon, reflective of the vitality of the community. When experienced up-close, the interesting building geometry coupled with its softly curved lines and sophisticated color palette creates a strong invitation to visitors and contribute to an exciting, human-scaled addition to the local neighborhood fabric.
Size of Store
4967
Company Name
iFLY
Architect
Hodges Architects
Designer
Stantec
General Contractor
Structura - http://www.structurainc.com/
Type of Merchandise
Entertainment
Opening Date
4/6/2015
If Renovation, Store's Original Opening Date
Store's Renovated Opening Date
Summary
Retail Store Design
Provide detailed information on the design concept, including background on the reasons for the concept, its development and impact on store image and sales performance.
Two primary challenges associated with the Ifly building design served to influence the architectural expression of the building.
First, given that the flight experience within the building is dependent on theatrical, controlled lighting within the flight chamber, exterior glazing was kept to a minimum. In response to the diminished amount of glazing, the surface of the building was articulated with curved lines, strong environmental graphics and a rich, six color finish palette. The result is a visually dynamic building envelope.
Also, the significant mechanical superstructure required to accomplish the wind velocities necessary for the flight attraction necessitated an architectural strategy for accommodating the scale and geometry of the machine. The final geometry of the building utilizes the shape of the mechanical system to create a unique, iconic silhouette for the building as well as a staging point for distant-read environmental graphics.
Describe the integration of interior, storefront and merchandise displays.
The design of the building interiors revolves around the flight chamber, the pristine, highly engineered glass cylinder where the magic takes place.
The walls are curved to react to the energy that emanates from the flight chamber and to allow for a better viewing experience from every angle. Different hues of blues and subtle flowing environmental graphic, line the walls of the main viewing area. The results is a theatrical experience where the flight chamber is the central focus of the space and everything else is toned down and act as a background.
In an experiential retail environment the experience is the merchandise and we located it in the middle of the building so that users can have a clear view of it at all times.
Describe the specific materials used in creating the new concept.
In order to create a theatrical experience, glazing is kept to a minimum to control natural daylight.
We relied on environmental graphics and dark hued finishes to elevate the importance of the the flight chamber as the main experience.
The result is a rich environment with a clear programmatic hierarchy.
If this is a renovation, describe the impact on sales. If this is a new store, comment on sales performance to date versus the planned performance.
This building is a new construction.
Total cost per square meters including design, leasehold improvements and fixtures.
The total project budget is $7,700,000 which equates to $16,700 per square meter.
Although the retail portion of the building is 465 sm there is a considerable sized mechanical structure that shift the usual retail paradigms. If we use the full 800 sm footprint for this calculation the price per square meter goes down to $9625
iFLY is an experiential retailer with very unusual dynamics and it's extremely challenging to compare it to standard retail logic and metrics.
Documentation
Floor Plan
Audio / Video
iFLY Woodlands
Category
Retail Store Design > Stores between 2,501 and 5,000 sq. ft. in area
Description
Multiple ones in US and worldwide
{ Address#projectAddress.City},
26860 I-45
Oak Ridge North, Texas 77386
Winner Status
- Commendation