Shawmut Design and Construction has been active in the Las Vegas market for nearly 15 years. And it’s safe to say, during that stretch, that Shawmut hadn’t built a retail store whose merchandise assortment includes 11,000 hats, and whose amenities include a state-of-the-art recording studio.
Those are two features of Culture Kings, the renowned streetwear brand based in Brisbane, Australia, which in early November opened its U.S. flagship store at The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas. Shawmut worked with bokor architecture + interiors (the design architect for Culture Kings’ stores in Australia and New Zealand) and Vegas-based Bunnyfish Studios (the AOR on the project) to create the two-story immersive space that had previously been occupied by four tenants, including an art gallery.
Culture Kings’ stores Down Under, as well as its wider online presence, have popularized the brand among celebrities in the sports, fashion, music, and entertainment worlds. DJs perform daily in each of its stores, whose luxury space, known as “The Vault,” displays the latest in men’s and women’s jewelry, watches, and other accessories. The stores offer over 100 leading brands and 2,000-plus styles of apparel and footwear, including 18 proprietary brands.
U.S. store adds some flourishes
The store in Las Vegas, which took eight months to complete, is Culture Kings’ ninth, and, according to Eric Geisler, a Director at Shawmut’s office in Las Vegas, is “very similar” to the stores in Australia and New Zealand. It includes a half basketball court and a 75-ft-tall hat wall. Interactive games allow customers to play to win products. The 25,000-sf store, with 14,000 sf of retail space, is distinguished by a large staircase with LED-clad risers, a mirrored tunnel hallway that leads patrons to a “Secret Room” with exclusive merch (a feature that the chain introduced at its Auckland, New Zealand, store last year), a jumbotron and more than 50 LED screens that livestream the latest work produced by music and video artists.
Geisler tells BD+C that his team traveled to Australia to tour Culture Kings’ stores there and to pick up on the “vibe” they send out to their customers. “The company wants to create an atmosphere that makes you want to hang out in the stores.”
To that end, the recording studio and bar are unique to the Vegas store, as is a footwear customization lounge. Throughout the store, black floor tile and metal work put the focus on the products and Culture Kings’ content. Geisler says the biggest challenge during construction was “figuring out where things went.”
A pivotal moment for growth?
Simon Beard, Culture Kings’ cofounder and CEO, who launched the company in 2008, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the cost of the Las Vegas store (which he didn’t reveal) was more than the combined total for its stores in Australia.
The Vegas store is nestled in The Forum Shops at Caesars between a Fat Tuesday restaurant and an Urban Necessities retail outlet. Culture Kings—which currently generates most of its revenue online, according to the Review-Journal—hasn’t disclosed if it has expansion plans for North America. But it’s worth noting that the company was acquired last year by a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp., which has a reputation for being a retail accelerator.
“This is a pivotal moment for Culture Kings,” a.k.a. Brands’ CEO Jill Ramsey said in a statement about the Vegas store opening. “Consumers are interacting with brands on a different level, and Culture Kings is transforming traditional retail in an unforgettable, immersive experience that can’t be replicated. I’m excited to watch the brand take off in the U.S. and globally.”
Related Stories
| Feb 11, 2011
Chicago high-rise mixes condos with classrooms for Art Institute students
The Legacy at Millennium Park is a 72-story, mixed-use complex that rises high above Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The glass tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is mostly residential, but also includes 41,000 sf of classroom space for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and another 7,400 sf of retail space. The building’s 355 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom condominiums range from 875 sf to 9,300 sf, and there are seven levels of parking. Sky patios on the 15th, 42nd, and 60th floors give owners outdoor access and views of Lake Michigan.
| Feb 11, 2011
Grocery store anchors shopping center in Miami arts/entertainment district
18Biscayne is a 57,200-sf urban retail center being developed in downtown Miami by commercial real estate firm Stiles. Construction on the three-story center is being fast-tracked for completion in early 2012. The project is anchored by a 49,200-sf Publix market with bakery, pharmacy, and café with outdoor seating. An additional 8,000 sf of retail space will front Biscayne Boulevard. The complex is in close proximity to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the downtown Miami entertainment district, and the Omni neighborhood, one of the city’s fast-growing residential areas.
| Feb 11, 2011
Apartment complex caters to University of Minnesota students
Twin Cities firm Elness Swenson Graham Architects designed the new Stadium Village Flats, in the University of Minnesota’s East Bank Campus, with students in mind. The $30 million, six-story residential/retail complex will include 120 furnished apartments with fitness rooms and lounges on each floor. More than 5,000 sf of first-floor retail space and two levels of below-ground parking will complete the complex. Opus AE Group Inc., based in Minneapolis, will provide structural engineering services.
| Feb 11, 2011
Green design, white snow at Egyptian desert retail complex
The Mall of Egypt will be a 135,000-sm retail and entertainment complex in Cairo’s modern 6th of October district. The two-story center is divided into three themed zones—The City, which is arranged as a series of streets lined with retail and public spaces; The Desert Valley, which contains upscale department stores, international retailers, and a central courtyard for music and other cultural events; and The Crystal, which will include leisure and entertainment venues, including a cinema and indoor snow park. RTKL is designing the massive complex to LEED Silver standards.
| Jan 25, 2011
AIA reports: Hotels, retail to lead U.S. construction recovery
U.S. nonresidential construction activity will decline this year but recover in 2012, led by hotel and retail sectors, according to a twice-yearly forecast by the American Institute of Architects. Overall nonresidential construction spending is expected to fall by 2% this year before rising by 5% in 2012, adjusted for inflation. The projected decline marks a deteriorating outlook compared to the prior survey in July 2010, when a 2011 recovery was expected.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Revamped hotel-turned-condominium building holds on to historic style
The historic 89,000-sf Hotel Stowell in Los Angeles was reincarnated as the El Dorado, a 65-unit loft condominium building with retail and restaurant space. Rockefeller Partners Architects, El Segundo, Calif., aimed to preserve the building’s Gothic-Art Nouveau combination style while updating it for modern living.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 7, 2011
BIM on Target
By using BIM for the design of its new San Clemente, Calif., store, big-box retailer Target has been able to model the entire structural steel package, including joists, in 3D, chopping the timeline for shop drawings from as much as 10 weeks down to an ‘unheard of’ three-and-a-half weeks.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
