When Philadelphia’s Franklin Mills opened in 1989, it was the world’s largest outlet mall. Today, the mall is undergoing a major face lift to revitalize and refresh the space. Beginning with a formal name change to Philadelphia Mills, the mall will receive new entrances, skylights, parking lots and landscaping in addition to new dining areas, upgraded restrooms and more.
The re-visioning of the shopping space was to update the heavily themed retail destination into a more contemporary regional mall attraction. New furniture, finishes and other amenities coupled with crisp, clean lighting accents reinforce a fresh new look for this mall. The Lighting Practice focused design efforts on creating impactful first impressions at each of the main mall entries. Those lighting elements were then carried into the interior spaces. At the main and secondary courts, TLP added light coves, decorative pendant clusters, and other subtle accents to create welcoming areas for shoppers to rest, recharge their phones, and wait for loved ones to shop. Along the main concourses, the efforts were focused on energy savings and creating clean, minimal lighting solutions. Upgrading the existing outdated metal halide and fluorescent lighting to LED resulted in significant energy savings. Further, because of ample daylighting in the concourse, a daylight harvesting system allowed the 0-10V LED lighting to be dimmed for additional savings.
The re-energized design was recently featured in Shopping Centers Today, which notes that the major tourist attraction’s renovations have captured the attention of new retailers, and some existing stores are undergoing their own redesign.
