The new corporate headquarters of Dots, the national fashion specialty retailer, was designed to create a “wow factor” for both employees and visitors. Located in Solon, OH, the facility includes 192,000 sq. ft. of office and distribution space.
Dots collaborated with architectural design firm Vocon, Cleveland, to create an atmosphere that embraced the Dots’ “fashion party” culture. According to Robert Glick, Dots chairman and CEO, “By combining the forces of creativity and construction, the end result is a cutting edge fashion facility.”
A unique 40’ tunnel—which doubles as a runway—links the reception area to the core of the building. “We created a runway tunnel so that everyone who enters can feel like a model,” according to Vocon designer Tina Dempsey.
Approximately 180 linear feet of 3 5/8”, 20 gauge Flex-C Trac® was used to help create the dramatic effect. “I had specified Flex-C Trac in the past and it made sense to me that if you turned it on its side, it could form the tunnel for us.” Dempsey said. “We chose to force the perspective by changing the diameter of the tunnel from one end to the other.”
The framing contractor on the project was South-East Construction, Inc., Macedonia, OH. According to Ed Salim, CEO, “We built the tunnel in 8’ sections and put the curvable track back to back. We templated one section and then dropped it down an inch or so every section in order to get the narrowing down effect.” Salim reports they first tried to use a stud bender for the framing but quickly gave up on that approach. “We were able to do the job a lot easier with the Flex-C Trac,” he said.
The general contractor was Premier Development Partners, Cleveland.