Commercial

Situated on the eighth and ninth floors of the industrial Starrett-Lehigh building, this project for internet content provider Screaming Media departs from traditional notions of the hierarchical office environment. Rather than doors, corner offices and cubicles, we created a series of dynamic volumes that provide private workspace within an open plan. Supple geometry and fluid sculptural spaces act in counterpoint to the ordered grid of columns in the large floor plates.

Our design intent was to reveal the dominant architectural details such as the columns and the continuous window wall. The entire exposed infrastructure, including the HVAC ductwork, was carefully designed as a sculptural element on the ceiling. Working with Vitra design, we designed custom workstations with translucent acrylic desktops.

We designed the executive suite for Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes and Noble, to showcase his extensive personal collection of contemporary art, and to provide operational space for Mr. Riggio, his director of marketing, and his chief financial officer. In addition, the program required a 10-seat library/dining space, a boardroom with seating for 16, pantry, private restrooms and workstations for support staff.

The material palette—travertine, brass, walnut, and glass—is intentionally “high modern,” while the layering of the ceiling planes and soffits (which help enclose and distribute the a/c ductwork) is intentionally more fragmented and energized. Floor-to-ceiling etched bronze glass walls bring natural light into the interior while providing visual privacy to the occupant. We added a skylight over the library/dining room to illuminate the windowless room.

Our client, the sixth largest software company in the world, wanted to create a new US headquarters that would consolidate the company’s various New York City offices in one location characterized by an open office environment conducive to collaboration and interaction between different departments.

Starting with raw, open floor plate over three floors, our design challenge was to provide the employees with a sense of place. We responded by creating a series of major “roads” that divided each floor into “neighborhoods” with distinct identities. We connected the sixth, seventh and eighth floors with a large, open central staircase featuring extra-wide treads that functioned as open seating for casual meetings.

Numerous small conference rooms and casual furniture located throughout the floors promote informal interaction between employees. Each floor has a “library,” or quiet room, where employees can work without the interruption of phones.