Our flagship showroom in Chicago’s Fulton Market District is now open, and Sloan senior manager of strategic accounts Kim Darke-Miller couldn’t be more excited.
“One of the great things about the showroom is that it’s helpful to anyone designing anything from a K-through-12 school to the lobby of a class A building to a sports arena,” she says.
We hope you’ll visit in person soon, but if you can’t, here’s a peek!
A 15-minute walk from the Merchandise Mart
The showroom is in the perfect location for architects and designers—a 15-minute walk from the iconic Merchandise Mart in the heart of Fulton Market, where many manufacturers’ design showrooms have moved in recent years.
Darke-Millers says, “That Sloan was forward thinking enough to see the benefits of establishing our Chicago Showroom in Fulton Market is a testament to our leadership and our dedication to not only the design community but Chicago itself as a mecca of design and architecture.”
This convenient location lets designers visit other showrooms, collect samples, and bring them to our showroom where they can continue to curate their design in one of our many collaboration areas. They may want to loop in someone who is still at the office to get their input. They can do this real time by using strategically placed hubs with Surface tablets that are Microsoft Teams enabled.
“So, say a designer was at one of those suppliers grabbing some fabric for the office area.” Says Darke-Miller. “Now they can take that fabric and bring their plans up, and we have collaboration areas where they can lay everything out to see if it works with their color scheme.”
Seeing Products’ True Colors
Darke-Miller says the showroom is designed to “get architects and designers in so they can see everything firsthand. The ability to see a product’s true color in different light is essential to ensuring the finishes you’ve chosen meet your design aesthetic. Relying strictly on your computer monitor is risky.
“You’re able to get a sense of the color or finish choice of your product on the internet, but being able to see your stone choice next to your faucet finish color live and in person ensures your products work together.”
Seeing products’ true colors is essential for designers coordinating commercial restroom design with other elements of a facility. That’s what makes the showroom and its location so important.
Getting a Sense of Light and Scale
The ability to see products in person is about more than color, however.
Darke-Miller says, “Designers and architects will have a better understanding of our family of different finishes when they visit the showroom. We have fittings in multiple finishes and everyone’s favorite polished chrome readily accessible for visitors. Designers will be able to see how the products look together, and how different light sources reflect off the finishes.”
What about someone who isn’t as far along in the design process—someone who’s not just choosing a color or a finish, but is starting the restroom design process from square one?
“Our Collections that are on display will help with that,” says Darke-Miller, “so designers can look and say, ‘Okay, here's the faucet I know, and here's the urinal or the water closet that work with that faucet.’ When you see the product in person, you get a better sense of scale than you get when you're looking at a website.
“Experiencing the Collections in person gives the designer a better sense of why we have paired the products and allows them to have a better sense of how everything will work together in their design.
“The same holds true when it comes to sink design, with the availability of our Sink Configurator and virtual reality system in the showroom. These tools can help designers recreate the restroom they’re designing for and experience that environment virtually with different products, finishes, and sink configurations.”
A Space to Collaborate, Learn, and Finalize Plans
The showroom lets designers, architects, contractors, property managers, and owners get a firsthand look at a wide range of Sloan products and innovations, including sensor-activated faucets, soap dispensers, hand dryers, and flushometers, as well as urinals, water closets, and sinks.
Also, in keeping with our commitment to sustainability and wellness, the building is LEED Silver and WELL Health and Safety certified.
“Creating a space for designers to collaborate, learn, and finalize their plans by making finish and product selection easier lets them move on to their next phase of the project. My hope is that this alleviates a little stress and reaffirms Sloan’s dedication to the design process and the entire restroom project.
“This ever-evolving showroom was designed with architects and designers in mind, to give them tools to make beautiful restroom designs.”
Want ideas for making your next 2022 commercial restroom project a knockout? Contact Sloan!
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