Bloomingdale’s has opened its first-ever location under the “Bloomies” banner.

Located in the Mosaic District lifestyle center of Fairfax, Va., the 22,000-sq.ft. store offers a highly curated assortment of contemporary and luxury brands, tech-enabled stylists, convenient services and an on-site restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. (By comparison, Bloomingdale’s department stores  generally average 150,000 sq. ft. to 200,000 sq. ft.)

The store experience interprets the iconic Bloomingdale’s aesthetic in a fresh way, with new design concepts to drive customer discovery and highlight rotating trends. Unique carts are positioned throughout the space, showcasing fresh finds. Read more here.

Haril Pandya of NELSON Worldwide shares his insight on the adaptive reuse of singular purpose buildings with New York Real Estate Journal. Read more here.

NELSON Worldwide recognized as a South Florida Top Architecture Firm by South Florida Business Journal. See full article here.

Business of Furniture highlights key trends from NELSON Worldwide’s Evolving Workforce Expectations study, focused on employees’ sentiments about returning to the office post-COVID-19. Read more here.

Employees are returning to the office everywhere, but they’re using office space differently than they did before.

Most want the freedom to work remotely for at least part of the week and come in when they need to collaborate closely with others or focus on deep work.

A hybrid office gives them that flexibility while potentially reducing overhead costs for employers. Instead of needing a dedicated desk for every employee and leasing new office space each time the team expands, they can make workspaces reservable. Read more here.

At Chester’s Chicken, things can get a bit messy. Guests might hear oil splattering. Flour might be on an employee’s apron. But that mess is a cue of freshness to the guest, VP of Marketing William Culpepper says.

And it’s a differentiator Chester’s plans to build on with its new redesign debuting this month.

“We wanted to lean into the fact that we are hand breading and frying fresh chicken in our stores every day, which we think is a major point of differentiation,” Culpepper says. “It’s going to be a little bit messy, but it will also be delicious.”

The redesign reflects changing times with a red, white, blue, and yellow color palette, updated menu boards, and modern architectural and interior brand elements. Chester’s brought the updates to life with the help of brand experience and architecture firm Nelson Worldwide, which has also completed work for Google, Yum! Brands, Disney, and Target. Read more here.

In a recent article with BUILDINGS, teammate Danijel Pocanic gave his thoughts on incorporating acoustics in the workplace.

“Our workspaces are broadcasting studios in a sense, because everything we do now has to be translated through a technology to other people and it’s often through video and audio. So, you have to be super aware of how you sound to other people as well as being able to hear other people clearly—because it’s something that is supporting your message.” Read the full article here.

Looking to create a vibrant community in the heart of downtown Greenville, South Carolina, Centennial American Properties selected award-winning architecture and design firm NELSON Worldwide to transform the old Greenville Newspaper site into a mixed-use space called Camperdown. Read more with Architect here.