Designed for Shoes

Topline's Bellevue headquarters puts the designers in the same space as customers.

Topline Corp., a leading shoe designer that supplies Nordstrom and other fashion retailers, had outgrown its offices. To make room for its growing staff and product line, the company transformed its Bellevue headquarters by converting its former warehouse into an integrated showroom, design studio and office space.

The new design by Seattle-based NBBJ, which won an award from the American Institute of Architects last year, succeeded in boosting productivity by creating a more open work environment and encouraging communication and collaboration among once disparate elements of the company such as sales and design.

"The flow of the space makes a big impact when customers preview collections," says Assaf Ziv, Topline's executive creative director. Footwear prototypes occupy the floor's perimeter where visiting clients can survey hundreds of shoe designs in a single glance. Since designers now work in the middle of the showroom, they can easily interact with customers as they study the latest shoe fashions. Expansive showroom walls provide an ever-changing canvas for designer sketches of the upcoming season's new looks.

The new headquarters building, which has a modern sensibility with its wood accents, concrete and white walls, integrates a sleek lobby, design studios, showrooms, corporate and support offices, conference rooms, a shoe library, magazine lounge, research and development lab, café kitchen and brainstorming lounges. A presentation area with mannequin vignettes showcasing key themes for upcoming collections doubles as an auditorium for company meetings.

Topline sells its Report, Report Signature and R2 footwear collections to Nordstrom, Macy's and other major retailers and boutiques in North America. It also designs and produces shoes for private labels and a licensed brand. In addition to its Bellevue headquarters, it has offices and showrooms in North America, South America and Asia.