FRCH Design Worldwide

FRCH Design Worldwide (currently FRCH Nelson) is an American architectural and design firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio with regional offices in Los Angeles and New York City. Founded in 1968, it provided architectural, interior design, graphic design and brand strategy services to the retail, hospitality, restaurant and corporate office sectors.[1][2]

FRCH Design Worldwide
Corporate headquarters in Downtown Cincinnati
Practice information
FoundersJames T. Fitzgerald, Kevin Roche, Joseph Cicio, Ed Hambrecht
Founded1968
No. of employees200+
LocationCincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
(Additional offices in Los Angeles and New York City)
Coordinates39.098680°N 84.515890°W / 39.098680; -84.515890
Website
frch.com

In January 2018, it formally merged with NELSON Worldwide and has since re-branded its operations under the "FRCH Nelson" brand.[3][4]

History

FRCH was founded by James T. Fitzgerald FAIA in 1968 as James T. Fitzgerald/Interior Architecture (F/IA). The practice largely focused on the interior design of large corporate spaces as Fitzgerald believed interiors were largely ignored by architects at the time. F/IA changed its name to Space Design/Interior Architecture (SDI) following the acquisition of a local competitor in 1972. In 1978, the company secured its first international project, a Hilton hotel in La Paz, Bolivia.[5]

In 1990, the firm merged with New York-based architecture firm Hambrecht Terrell International, becoming HTI/SDI with offices in New York and Cincinnati.[6] The new entity grew to become one of the most prestigious retail design companies worldwide with clients such as Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Marshall Field's, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.[6][7][8]

In 1995, the firm appointed retail executive Joseph Cicio as vice-chairman and chief creative officer, and as part of a major restructuring plan, HTI/SDI changed to its present name of FRCH Design Worldwide representing the key partners of the firm: James T. Fitzgerald, Kevin Roche, Joseph Cicio and Ed Hambrecht.[9][10]

Following its corporate restructuring, FRCH expanded to the international market, offering architectural and design services to international retailers in Brazil and Mexico.[11][12] In 2011, the firm collaborated with renowned Mexican architect Michel Rojkind in the interior design of the new Liverpool Interlomas in Greater Mexico City.[13]

In 2015, FRCH opened a new office in Los Angeles.[14]

In 2016, the firm developed the design concept and brand strategy of Home2 Suites, an extended stay hotel brand of Hilton Worldwide and in 2017, it developed the prototype design, branding and graphic design for Hilton's new brand Tru by Hilton, directly targeting at younger and more budget-conscious travelers.[15][16]

FRCH grew to become a leading architecture firm in the retail and hospitality sectors by expanding its portfolio to include clients such as American Girl, Darden Restaurants, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt, Kroger, Liverpool, Subway, T-Mobile and Tiffany & Co.[17] In 2017 Interior Design Magazine mentioned FRCH as one of the top hospitality architecture firms for and in 2018, FRCH was named Design Firm of the Year by design:retail magazine.[18][19]

In 2018, it was announced that FRCH would merge operations with NELSON Worldwide, a large architecture and interior design based in Philadelphia.[20]

Selected projects

References
  1. "FRCH Design Worldwide". Archinect. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  2. "Company Profile - FRCH Design Worldwide-Cincinnati Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  3. "FRCH merging with one of the largest architecture firms in the nation". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  4. "FRCH, NELSON Merge Ops". Boutique Design. Retrieved 29 February 2019. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. Solomon, Nancy (2008). Architecture INTL: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future. Harper Design. p. 186. ISBN 9781584711629.
  6. "Ed Hambrecht Dies at Home - Retail architect, co-founder of FRCH, was 70". VMSD. 27 January 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  7. "Ed Hambrecht - Obituary". Obituaries - The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  8. Barr, Vilma (1995). Promotion Strategies for Design and Construction Firms. Wiley. pp. 159–161. ISBN 978-0471285595.
  9. "SDI/HTI restructures with name change". design week. 21 April 1995. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  10. "Kevin Roche". VMSD. 13 March 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  11. "Spoleto". FRCH Design Worldwide. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  12. "FRCH Design Worldwide Shops Mexico City". interiordesign.net. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  13. "Liverpool Department Store / Rojkind Arquitectos". ArchDaily. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  14. "FRCH Design Worldwide Expands to the West Coast". Yahoo! Finance. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  15. "Hilton launches 'Tru,' a more affordable hotel brand". The Christian Science Monitor. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  16. "Hilton targets midscale market with launch of Tru brand". hotelbusiness.com. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  17. "How American Girl, T-Mobile And Hershey's Designed New Retail Experiences". Forbes. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  18. "2017 Hospitality Giants". interiordesign.net. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  19. "2018 Design Firms of the Year". designretailonline.com. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  20. "Nelson and FRCH Design Worldwide expand industry market segment, practice leadership and global reach my merging operations". nelsononline.com. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  21. "Modernizing a beloved landmark". FRCH Design Worldwide. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
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