(PRWEB) October 21, 2005 -- The interior of North Fork Bank’s newest branch in Flower Hill, NY, hearkens back to another era.
“ They are completely surprised at the look ”
The branch, recently opened on Northern Boulevard on Long Island’s prestigious Gold Coast, occupies 4,500 square feet in a new luxury retail center just a half mile east of such designer shops as Gucci, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Yves St. Laurent and Ralph Lauren at the Americana Shopping Center on Manhasset’s Miracle Mile.
Designed by Mineola, NY-based JRS Architect, PC to be one of North Fork Bank’s premier Long Island locations, the elaborately detailed banking center recalls “the historic richness of the community and the look and feel of the village,” said Alexander Hadjiyane, senior vice president of the firm, noting that the area’s historic homes and the Roslyn Clock Tower provided cues for the design. “We wanted to have a rich, elegant, hand-crafted look.”
The new branch is the latest in a string of projects in JRS Architect’s growing portfolio of bank branch designs for North Fork and other financial institutions, among them JP Morgan Chase, New York Community Bancorp’s Roslyn Savings Bank and Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
The new North Fork branch’s classical design with its columns and pedestals reflected the architects’ desire to make the bank appear as an established fixture of the community. “We went back in time,” said Ray Maggiore, project manager. “But it’s not a complete throw back to what banks were.” A flat panel television screen on one wall emphasizes the point.
With its terrazzo floor radiating in a starburst from a central checking desk; deep brown, palm-leaf pattern carpet; woven dark wood fixtures; metal painted ceiling tiles; hand-crafted burnished brass chandelier and oversized plush leather chairs, the new bank has an other-worldly look, resembling the lobby of a luxury resort hotel on a tropical island.
The finishes, millwork and lighting futures designed by the firm were influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement popular in the late 19th Century.
Customers appear to like what they see. “They are completely surprised at the look,” said Hadjiyane, noting that bank employees also appreciate the design. “It made them feel very exclusive.”
JRS Architect with offices in Mineola, NY, and Princeton, NJ, has grown from six people since its establishment in 1986 to more than 30 today. It has developed design expertise in the corporate, financial, healthcare, education and residential markets. The firm ranks at No. 86 among Interior Design Magazine’s list of the 100 largest design firms in the nation. For more information call (516) 294-1666 or visit www.jrsarchitect.com.
