Retail Store Image

 
text by Michael Fickes [Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3] [Page 4] Photography by Eliot Neel
Banking the retail way
A banker and a store designer believe banks should
look and feel more like stores.
(...previous page) windows and no doors, which helps convey key image concepts of accessibility and openness. The walls of these offices display lifestyle artwork Showing families skiing, boating, vacationing - doing things you might have to borrow money to do.

Back outside the offices, in the center of the retail floor, a waiting area with eight club chairs allows customers to relax should they have to wait for a banker. To make waiting customers more comfortable, the bank offers

...SIGNAGE YOU CAN BANK ON...
Tulsa's new State Bank and Trust may use more point-of-sale signage than many conventional retailers. As you enter the bank, you pass through a foyer with two backlighted signs suspended from the open ceiling. Banners hanging across the expanse of the ceiling advertise IRAs, money market funds, and other bank services. On the base of the check counters on either side of the waiting area, more signs proclaim more services. Across a panel above the teller lines, nine signs promote the bank's services and products. Still more signs look down from the walls enclosing the teller area. If you don't want to read the promos, you can watch the television suspended from the ceiling, which runs informational programs such as Headline News.
Interior Photo
Because retail bank architect Stephen Morrill believes that bank signage should sell
the benefits of products and services, State Bank and Trust is overtly graphic --
strategically placing signs and banners for maximum drama and optimum effect.
coffee and fresh popcorn. State Bank doesn't look like a bank, and it doesn't smell like one either.

Interface Flooring Systems carpet tile defines the octagonal shape of the waiting area and also covers the floors in the perimeter offices. Polished tiles by American Olean fill the high-traffic zone that circles the waiting area.

As in a mall clothing store, the ceiling in State Bank is open, to add to the feeling of spaciousness.

"We wanted a festive retail ceiling," Morrill explains "We painted the ceiling, the mechanical ductwork, and the bar joists in the offices with a high-gloss white."

The lighting maintains the bright, airy feel of the design's intent. Strips of white neon light accent the bases of all the teller desks and the check counters in the waiting area. Metal halide sconces provide uplighting around the room's perimeter. Above the waiting area, low-voltage track lighting allows enough light for reading.

The bank's two structural columns include an inverted scoop at the top, which disguises incandescent uplighting.

Next time you're in Tulsa, visit State Rank and Trust and look around for ideas. Careful though, it's not just a bank; it's a store, and you may walk out with a checking account or IRA in a state far from where you live.

Mike Fickes writes about business from Baltimore.

THE PLAYERS

CLIENT
State Bank and Trust, NA
Burton E. Stacy, President and CEO

SLM & Associates
Stephen I.. Morrill. A.I.A., principal

Consultants
General Contractor: Ken Petty

Suppliers
Carpet: Interface Flooring Systems Inc.
Flooring: American Olean, a subsidiary of Armstrong
Lighting: Lithonia Lighting
Neon: Oklahoma Neon
Exterior Signage: Retail Display Corporation
Lifestyle Artwork: Art Collectors Inc.
Canopy: Ventaire Corporation

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