October 2011

The New Season Starts...  

Ready for the fall season? We are! Just as our favorite TV shows return to the air each fall, so do our best industry events. In fact, this season we're feeling a little like we're on our own hybrid reality show as we strive to keep up with what we do and who we work with!

And just as a great TV show relies on its sponsors, a great conference relies on companies like Architectural Systems. This September marked the sixth year Architectural Systems was an Emerald sponsor for the always informative and inspirational International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), which was held in San Francisco this year.

Like a split-second click of the remote, we rushed back from San Francisco for the opening night of BOFFO Building Fashion 2011 - another "show" for which Architectural Systems was able to provide support. Being an Event & Materials Partner for the fabulous opening of House of Mugler Creative Director and Lady Gaga stylist Nicola Formichetti's pop up shop made us feel like we were on The Style Network. Paired with Gage/Clemenceau Architects to create a stage set-style retail environment, Nicola's shop was the buzz of Fashion Week in NYC! (Read more - this is just the first of five pop-up collaborations!) 

Travelling near and far can feel like living on the Travel Channel (or globe-trotting with those air hostesses on Pan Am) and it is the way we stay engaged in the design process, visiting designers and collaborating on important projects as a strategic material partner. And we do it all year through! Meeting and exceeding your expectations and protecting your design intent while being sensitive to the budget is just a "press play" motion at ASI!

With passports in hand (we had to get extra pages!), European travel is planned in November so we can source and introduce even more exciting and innovative products into the market. See WHAT'S NEXT® in materials now, on the right!

Make sure to view our featured project - HOK Headquarters. For us, it feels like winning an Emmy when a renowned architectural firm like HOK chooses ASI materials for their own space!

Read about our Trend Tawk presentations, customized for each industry segment. We talk about the trends we see from Stylized Industrial to Organic Luxe, highlighted in ASI projects - but the trend with staying power is great design! Just as we're watching to see which of this year's new fall shows will make the cut and continue to another season, we can't wait to see the new design trends that will develop and become popular in the coming months.

So as you check out each "channel" below - sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!  

Nancy Jackson, President           Ronald Jackson, CEO

It has always been a passion of Architectural Systems to fuse the creative direction of the fashion designer within the branded store environment. Materials can translate the brand in a very impactful way.

 

BOFFO Building Fashion 2011 is a series of collaborations celebrating architecture and fashion design by showcasing avant garde design through a series of temporary retail installations.

  

"This has been an unbelievable opportunity to partner with cutting-edge architectural firms, allowing new fashion talent to experience their own store concept and bring the personal expression of their brand to a real setting," says Ronald Jackson, CEO, Architectural Systems.   

The second installation by Marc Fornes & TheVeryMany™ featuring jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth, showcases Anodized Aluminum Laminates in a brushed gold finish. October 12th is the last day to see the amazing installation, so visit 57 Walker St. today and prepare to be wowed! 100 pieces crafted into 29 organic morphed nodes, highlighting the sculptural quality of the jewelry. BOFFO Building Fashion 2011 rotates with a new pop-up exhibit every 2 weeks through December 14.

  

Materialista® mixes and mingles with the Fashionistas at Boffo to kick off Fashion Week in NYC. Read blog post here.

BDNY (Boutique Design New York)

Architectural Systems will once again exhibit at the 2nd annual BDNY show at the Jacobs Javits Center, Nov 13-14. The show features unique and innovative design products for hospitality in an intimate, boutique-style setting (with natural sunlight too!). ASI will be highlighting some of our newest product collection offerings, such as Eco-Dimensions Bamboo Wall Panels and introducing the revolutionary ASI Magnetic Floor System. Click for attendee registration!

IIDA NY Hospitality Forum - November 14, 2-4pm 

From l to r: Tony Machado, Randall Stone, Matoula Karagiannis and Matt Turner

The success of last year's Hospitality Forum event held at the Jacob Javits Center during BDNY prompted IIDA NY Hospitality Forum co-chairs Nancy Jackson, President of Architectural Systems, and Bruno Viterbo, Managing Director, Champalimaud, to select this venue again. This year our panel of industry luminaries includes Tony Machado, Senior Associate, BBG-BBGM; Randall Stone, Senior Partner & Director of Customer Experience, Lippincott; Matoula Karagiannis, Design Manager, Global Design, Wyndham Hotels; and Matt Turner, Editor, Sleeper Magazine. The panel, which Nancy Jackson will moderate, will bring their diverse industry experience to weigh in on this year's topic: "Sense & Sensibility: Evolving the Guest Experience". You won't want to miss it!    

Thanks to Event Sponsors: Evan Shatz Sales Associates, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., KELLEX, Kimball Hospitality, Kohler Interiors Hospitality, Royal Custom Designs, and SEURA.  

Register here. 

RDC (Retail Design Collective) - December 7-9

It's become a tradition for Architectural Systems to participate in the Retail Design Collective, as we have been for over 15 years. This "showroom tradeshow" gives us the opportunity to celebrate 25th Street, along with our showroom neighbors, as the visual merchandising block in NYC. All the showrooms on the street get a refresh and it's the perfect way to see the whole range of products, including real-life applications (bigger and better than a trade show booth!). At the ASI showroom, retail designers will see a revolutionary new flooring product, lightweight wall panels made from pressed bamboo pulp, and more. Architectural Systems will also have a presence at 7W, the show's headquarters at 7 West 34th Street, with a sneak-peek exhibit of the materials you will see at our showroom. ASI is 'The Material Source' for display, visual merchandising and store design! Click to register.

Gabrielle Jackson, Account Executive, Architectural Systems, Randy Fahey, Senior Associate, Gensler, Nancy Jackson, President, Architectural Systems

Members from the Gensler, New York, retail studio visited ASI, where Nancy Jackson, President, gave a 'Trend Tawk' presentation highlighting ASI materials in projects from all market segments and Rachel Cooper, VP of Sales provided a showroom tour. Last week, Architectural Systems also had the opportunity to visit the Gensler New York headquarters for an informal breakfast presentation for all the design studios that didn't have a chance to visit the showroom. Schedule a presentation with your firm to see WHAT'S NEXT® in Materials either at our showroom or at your office today! 

It's back to school! Professor Susan Forbes' Retail Design class from FIT stopped in for a tour of the ASI showroom this month as did Karen Pelzer's class from Drexel. Architectural Systems is committed to encouraging the designers of tomorrow and we welcomed the opportunity to introduce the students to how materials can become an integral part of the design process, especially in retail where materials can translate a brand or transform a branded environment by specifying iconic and signature interior finishes.

   Godiva 5th Ave Flagship Party

After all the impressive photos from the first prototype in Istanbul, it was exhilarating to walk on the  ASI Hardwood Flooring V at the opening of the 5th Ave flagship. The fumed oak is a new signature material of the global design concept for Godiva Chocolatier, as is the gold Glass Mosaic material from ASI's Glass Tile Collection. D-Ash Design founder David Ashen and project architects Leonard Barszap and Cecilia Hanover (newly married -- congratulations!), joined Godiva's Vice President of Global Store Design & Visual Merchandising, Linda Lombardi, and Senior Manager of Corporate Store Planning, Global Creative & Store Design, Gabriel Centrella, as gracious hosts for the store opening. The evening was decadent, full of chocolate and liqueurs. The gift bag of "Pumpkin Pearls" and truffles was amazing too!

Retail Design Institute - Ralph Lauren 

The New York Chapter of the Retail Design Institute provided a fantastic opportunity in late September when they arranged a tour of the greatest new flagship on Madison Avenue - Ralph Lauren! In addition to an insightful presentation illuminating how the design concept was inspired, the tour, led by Polo/Ralph Lauren's SVP of Store Design, John Heist and SVP of Real Estate, Stephen Yalof, was an exciting way to see Ralph's vision displayed in vignettes for all their labels. The group also viewed the new Ralph Lauren watch collection which debuted in Macau and now in NYC!

The Retail Design Institute's 'Oh My Lord & Taylor' event was a fascinating look at the renovation of the 100 year old flagship location on 5th Ave. Check out Materialista®'s re-cap!

RDI Cincinnati River Cruise

Lori Kolthoff, FRCH & Nancy Jackson,  Architectural Systems .

Architectural Systems sponsored the RDI Riverboat Cruise in Cincinnati. Nancy Jackson was aboard for this great networking event, with beautiful views of the skyline. Check out the pictures on Facebook!