Renovation of the Galleria at Erieview for Dollar Bank
Cleveland, OH
55,000 sf
First Place, VM+SD National Design Renovation Competition
City of Cleveland Redevelopment of the Year
IIDA Cleveland Regional Design Award
IIDA/ IESNA Regional Design Award
Publication:
VM+SD magazine
Stores & Retail Spaces 11
Dollar Bank sought to create a “serious presence” in downtown Cleveland for its relocated new main branch and administrative offices.
A downtown retail Galleria featured an opaque green glass facade and was sited on a corner with six high-rise buildings within 100 yards, with traffic of 40,000 cars per day.
To achieve a legible presence, the new main branch bank was located on the outside corner with the second floor removed and the opaque green glass replaced with blue tint vision glass, creating a welcoming 32’ high room.
At its Pittsburgh main branch, two red sandstone lions guard the entry. The bank occasionally utilized an image of the lions on its stationary over the years. In creating a new brand identity to distinguish Dollar Bank from its competitors, the designers took the lion as a symbol of strength and integrity and exploded the image to iconic proportions by rendering him in glass mosaic tile behind the branch teller line and in front of the vault, literally guarding the deposits.