OWNER: Toys 'R' Us, Paramus, NJ
ARCHITECT: Gensler, NYC
INTERIOR DESIGNER: Joanne Newbold Associates, NYC
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Glisanz Murray and Stefick, NYC
MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING ENGINEER: FMC Associates, NYC
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Focus Lighting, NYC
CURTAIN WALL CONTRACTOR: W & W Glass Systems Inc., Nanuet, NY
FOUNDATION CONTRACTOR: Urban Foundation/Engineering, East Elmhurst, NY
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Inc., NYC

A 60-ft.-high Ferris wheel, a 4,000-sq.-ft. Barbie Dollhouse and a 5-ton, 20-ft.-high, 34-ft.-long T-Rex may sound like amusement park attractions, but they're not. These are all part of the fun at the 100,000-sq.-ft. Toys 'R' Us in the heart of Times Square.

Creating something "fun" requires a lot of hard work. For this store it included a gut renovation of existing space, incorporation of additional steel for its atrium, excavation of part of the basement, removal and installation of the building facades, threading elevators through a maze of shoring and bracing and doing everything on a tight schedule.

The first step in this project was a gut renovation of an original 1936 theater. Gutting including removal of existing elevators and escalators and sloped steel and concrete. The new retail store required the integration of over 700 tons of steel to permit the store to have a three-story atrium and two glass-enclosed elevators overlooking the Ferris wheel located in the atrium.

A portion of the basement had to be excavated to provide the store with support staff area as well as elevator machine rooms.

The existing brick facade was removed so those new structural butt-glazed curtain wall system and aluminum panels could be installed. The process of removing the facade and all of the openings in the existing steel for elevators, escalators and stairs, required careful engineering for shoring, cutting and installing the new steel. Behind the curtain wall, 165 scrollers were installed to allow the entire facade to act as a billboard.

At the perimeter of the building, at the roofline, are 51 light fixtures of 1,000 watts each to illuminate the graphics without glare.

Other project hurdles were shoring, bracing and underpinning for the installation of new columns to accommodate the new atrium space and the threading of nine elevators through a maze of steel shoring and bracing. They also included a tight schedule, which required completion in time for Thanksgiving and a hanging scaffold for work on duct and ceilings so floor finishes could be simultaneously worked on.

The jury recognized the unique interior and signage, noting that the signage creates different advertising opportunities. In addition, the jury said the project team met the challenge of a tight schedule, opening by Thanksgiving in time for the Christmas selling season.