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Sony Metreon hits big in San Francisco

Š1999 metrofashion-

What is Metreon? Is it a mall or an entertainment theme park with shopping? Metreon has a front desk that looks like a hotel registration desk, but you don't "check in". Metreon has a Microsoft software retail store that sells logo t-shirts, but there are no nerdy programmers. And Metreon has a "Wild Things" theme area and OmniMax (3D) theatre, but there is no museum. So we set out to figure out what Metreon intends to be...

Here's a short list of "attractions" you can find inside the Metreon complex: The Discovery Channel Store, Sony Music and Electronics Superstore, Wild Things theme area, Sony Theatres (10 screens), Firewood fusion restaurant, Jillian's Restaurant with live television-braodcasting feed, the Airtight Garage video arcade with full-size "video bowling", and the Lounge. The Sony Theatres ticket area is lively enough by itself to take up a half-hour with your date watching the schedule feed scroll down the digital ticket board.

Situated directly in front of the Discovery Channel Store, you can wait in line and turn around to watch the television matrix of 30x5 large flat-panel screens showing scenes of African wildlife and Artic glaciers.

It can be a bit intimidating at first. Metreon is really the first public commercial complex in America to bring the "surround" feeling of the Internet into a physical space. Sensory stimulation follows you from the entrance hall, which has silver metallic standing billboard posters for the movies showing and coming, through the central junction at the service desk (image above), where space-age ATM modules protrude into your vision along with criss-crossing aluminum arc beams, up the escalators to the Airtight Garage, built into a dark cave-like room with individual standing game panels clustered in pods. Airtight Garage boasts multi-player "floater" games,

where you guide your running floater person through arenas shooting at other players, a Virtual Reality space travel module with two-seater flyers participating in deep space docking and mining maneuvers, and the infamous life-size Video Bowling, where the bowler stands at a console and "rolls" the ball by spinning a bowling-ball-sized trac ball; on-screen, the ball rolls down the streets of San Francisco through cable cars and up and down the hills to finally hit the pins. Got enough yet?!

Here's an analogy: Fine art buffs play a game where they stand a blind-folded friend in front of a Mark Rothko painting, pull off the blind-fold, and ask the friend to describe how far they are from the painting. It's tricky because a Rothko peice is so deep in color that often you feel like you are inside the painting, or very close to it. The thinkness of the paint colors confuses the mind's ability to determine depth. Think of Metreon the same way. Standing inside the complex, you almost always forget how far inside it you really are; the entrance and exit doors maybe only 50 feet away, but there is so much sensory stimulation going on that you lose the ability to keep the "map" in your head.

Only after dozens of visits to various venues does your mind start to orient itself to the new walking and visual patterns. Like the Rothko, Metreon imprints a profound visual impression on the mind, and makes other mall experiences seem bland. Sony has translated the experiences of PlayStation gaming into public meandering.

So what, then, is Metreon? Time will reveal that Metreon is the first generation of a new form of public space, a new "amphitheatre of the Modern Age". Like the public areas of Rome, Metreon displays the best exhibits of the creations of our time, such as the immediate media access to the wilds of Africa and ocean sharks. At the same time, it invites you to just hang out, through food venues that are upscale but convenient and share a common dining space. And through the use of vertical as well as horizontal integration, Metreon creates the illusion that you, each person, is at the center of the activity, at once anonymous and private as well as public and on display. Perhaps the best foreshadowing of Metreon was the movie "Demolition Man" where Sylvestor Stallone chased Wesley Snipes through glass-crashing and console-smashing scenes with Sandra Bullock in a land where Taco Bell was the "winner" and television commercial jingles formed the cultural drumbeat. For now, Metreon is our first glimpse of the future of commerical public entertainment and shopping experiences.

Metrofashion 2000 San Francisco

(SF) Spectacular Macys Passport99 with Sharon Stone : Sharon Stone hosted the 1999 Passport event which featured designers like Hilfiger and Rowley for the benefit of AIDS research.

Magic Johnson at Passport99 : Magic Johnson was a splash as Passport99 host; his charisma set the tone for a dazzling evening of "fashion and compassion."

Passport99 Fashion Show Images : The Passport99 Fashion Show was diverse with evening gowns, glam rock, Egyptian costumes, and patriotic (Joe Boxer) underwear.

(SF) Sony Metreon Complex Hits Big : Sony Metreon complex is more than a new mall, it is a new concept in public retail gathering spaces and a great place to hang out.

Movies: Pierce Brosnan is a Class Act as Crown or Bond : Interviews with Millionaire and Madison magazines reveal Pierce Brosnan to be a model star, with an admirable sense of self and purpose.

Bill Blass Tour Bill Blass' contribution to the Spring 2000 prettiness trend is a beautiful and quiet set of pretty designs, from a soft, red sheer that encompasses while caressing, to the

brilliant cruise dress with floral and natural patterns worked into a flawless white sheet (see image).

Peek at Blass' cruisewear pieces on the Bill Blass Cruise 2000 page, or see the Bill Blass Tour page for coverage and photographs of the Spring 2000 Blass collection. More Bill Blass Pages: Blass Chic Spring 2000 Designs | Blass Elegant

FASHION SKETCH DIRECTORY
Versace Red/Orange Gown	Balmain Yellow/Black Ballroom Gown	Versus Yellow Shorts/Red Top	Gucci Midnight Blue Single-sleeve Gown	Mugler Black Tulle Ballgown

Valentino Red/Black Embroidered Top	Armani Pink Top/Skirt with Sheer Overlay	Valentino Pink Floral Lingerie & Jacket	Nina Ricci Red-Striped Top/Shorts	Valentino White Pant Suit with Frills

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