Design aspects Stonebriar's design combines history and high-tech. Berkeley, Calif.-based ELS/Elbasani & Logan Architects helped to create a project that blends the rich history of Frisco along with the growing high-tech business base of Dallas/Forth. The result is an upscale, modern design laced with historical graphics and artwork. "We've stepped it up a notch and made Stonebriar more customer friendly to keep the customer in the mall longer," Howard says.
Modern design features, such as an asymmetric skylight system, run throughout the mall. Graphic artists used historical images of early Frisco such as Main Street, the clock tower and an old fire truck to create a mural that runs the full length of the food court.
Another unique design feature is an AMC Theatre that sits on the third level of the mall, which adds a different flair to how customers access the theater. Customers come into the mall and then go up to the theatre, Howard notes. "That will pull a lot of people through the mall, through the food court, and enable them to see the other entertainment features of the mall," he says.
"When we started the design of this mall, we realized that we had a challenge on our hands in trying to compete with today's trends," Howard says. One trend is for big box tenants to be incorporated as an integral part of the mall instead of just a peripheral component. "So we tried to design it in a way that we could accommodate those types of uses," Howard says. General Growth made room for Barnes & Noble and the Cheesecake Factory within the mall rather, than having them perched on pad sites outside of the mall.