Lyon: I don't know if it is bigger, but it is as big. People are always going to want to go out to an environment to be with other people and to be entertained, so it is a question of the mix of offerings that you are going to present at a retail, shopping and dining destination. The challenge of the developer is to find out what that blend is or should be, and as architects, our challenge is to—once they have decided that blend—create that immersive environment that becomes a living room for the local community. Millennials, for example, are looking for authentic environments that respond to their aspirations, which have a lot to do with sustainability and creating an outdoor living room. Sustainability has become a part of the brand of a retail facility, not just the right thing to do. That is because millennials recognize sustainability in design and they respond to that.

GlobeSt.com: How have demographic shifts and multi-culturalism had an impact on retail design?

Lyon: Especially on the West Coast, we are part of the Pacific Rim culture. That includes Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and very importantly Central America and Mexico. This has really influenced the way that we think about retail centers and retail design. Pacific Rim shoppers, historically, are more multi-generational. You have grandparents, parents and children going shopping together, so you need to create an environment that is going to cater to capturing that audience and activities for children to engage in.

GlobeSt.com: How early do you start working with the developer to accomplish these environments?

Lyon: Developers come in many different flavors, but we generally come in very early on in the process. Usually we come in when a developer is considering a site, and e start to do some studies based on different programs that we design or that we work on together. Or, we come on shortly after the developer has acquired a site. Because we need to create a property that guests want, we then bring our consultants in very early on. It isn't only about architecture. It is graphics, signage, landscape, lighting. In order to achieve that immersive environment, you need to get all of your creative consultants on board right away so that you can maximize the environment that you are going to create. The traditional process no longer leads to a successful result. We need to have a collective discussion with all of the creative consultants in the room about the story that we are trying to tell and how we achieve it.

The retail market is changing. This year alone, we have seen major announcements, like Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods, that will surely bring more change to the industry. Ecommerce is the biggest driver of change in the retail sector, but demographic shifts, aging millennials and multiculturalism have also had an enormous impact on retail center development and tenant mixes. Obviously, investors are responding to these changes by developing new strategies, but architects are also approaching retail design differently. Today, successful retail environments create a sense of place and drive people out of their homes to gathering spaces. We sat down with Greg Lyon, owner and design director at Nadel Architects, to talk about retail design and how he is responding to the disruption.

GlobeSt.com: How have you changed your approach to retail design in response to all of the disruption in the retail industry?

Greg Lyon: Retail in general is always changing. There are always different factors affecting the way that we design retail destinations. For example, before the recession, there was a big push for lifestyle centers. When the recession occurred everyone went back to basics and focused on the grocery-anchored retail centers. Then, developers discovered that we needed to create terrific environments that people will go to even when there are changes economically. At the same time that the recession occurred, there was also the change to ecommerce. Post-recession, there has been the continued development of online shopping. It has developed over several years, and we are only starting to really feel the impact of online shopping. We need to always evolve retail design to the changing habits of shoppers.

GlobeSt.com: Demographic shifts have been a big part of the changes. Do you think that demographic shifts have had a bigger impact than ecommerce?

Lyon: I don't know if it is bigger, but it is as big. People are always going to want to go out to an environment to be with other people and to be entertained, so it is a question of the mix of offerings that you are going to present at a retail, shopping and dining destination. The challenge of the developer is to find out what that blend is or should be, and as architects, our challenge is to—once they have decided that blend—create that immersive environment that becomes a living room for the local community. Millennials, for example, are looking for authentic environments that respond to their aspirations, which have a lot to do with sustainability and creating an outdoor living room. Sustainability has become a part of the brand of a retail facility, not just the right thing to do. That is because millennials recognize sustainability in design and they respond to that.

GlobeSt.com: How have demographic shifts and multi-culturalism had an impact on retail design?

Lyon: Especially on the West Coast, we are part of the Pacific Rim culture. That includes Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and very importantly Central America and Mexico. This has really influenced the way that we think about retail centers and retail design. Pacific Rim shoppers, historically, are more multi-generational. You have grandparents, parents and children going shopping together, so you need to create an environment that is going to cater to capturing that audience and activities for children to engage in.

GlobeSt.com: How early do you start working with the developer to accomplish these environments?

Lyon: Developers come in many different flavors, but we generally come in very early on in the process. Usually we come in when a developer is considering a site, and e start to do some studies based on different programs that we design or that we work on together. Or, we come on shortly after the developer has acquired a site. Because we need to create a property that guests want, we then bring our consultants in very early on. It isn't only about architecture. It is graphics, signage, landscape, lighting. In order to achieve that immersive environment, you need to get all of your creative consultants on board right away so that you can maximize the environment that you are going to create. The traditional process no longer leads to a successful result. We need to have a collective discussion with all of the creative consultants in the room about the story that we are trying to tell and how we achieve it.