WHSmith books.co

WHSmith books.co, in the Pittsburgh International Airport's Airmall™, constitutes 1400 square feet of retail space. Specially tailored for travelers, the store features blue tile and hardwood flooring, plus light-colored beech wood fixtures trimmed with brushed steel. A free “Travelers Info Active Desk” provides customers with a variety of book titles, business and travel information, travel reservations, maps, directions and e-mail service. And the convenience highlight — designed for the stranded layover traveler — is the “Book.machine.” This vending machine of sorts is built into the storefront, where shoppers can purchase a bestseller of their choice by touchscreen on the spot, twenty four-seven.

Client Team: WHSmith USA Travel Retail (WHSmith international design team), Atlanta — John Cugasi, brand director; Debbie Thompson, construction director, Rebecca Gadbois, interior design manager; Robyn Bilbrey, marketing services manager; William Turner, infrastructure, MS manager Design: FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati — Beth Neroni Harlor, vp, specialty retail; Jeffrey Sackenheim, project manager/architect; Shane Cavanagh, director of architecture Fitch, London, and WHSmith Internal Team, Atlanta (preliminary concept) Outside Consultants: Lighting Products, Atlanta (lighting); Anderson Art and Design, Waleska, Ga. (graphics); Parkway Imaging, Chicago (interior signage); Shannon Construction, Pittsburgh (construction contractor) Suppliers: MEI Digital Ltd., London (audio/visual); IBM, Armonk, N.Y. (computer monitors); Fujitsu, Tokyo (plasma screens); Apex Woodworks, Toronto (fixturing); GranitiFiandre, Itasca, Ill. (floor tile); Wilsonart Intl.., Temple, Texas (laminate flooring); Parkway Imaging, Chicago (graphics and custom wallcoverings); Alico Industries, Toronto, Juno Lighting Group, Des Plaines, Ill., and Seagull Lighting, Riverside, N.J. (lighting); Precision Plastics, Hiram, Ga. (props/decoratives); Gordon Signs, Denver (exterior signage); Ineos Acrylics, Peachtree City, Ga. (custom lightboxes); WHSmith, Atlanta (visual merchandising) Photography: Kevin Cook, Graule Studios, Pittsburgh