Office Tour | You Work Where?! - Design Bureau

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Lamar Advertising Corporate Headquarters
“A major accomplishment achieved by the project team was the swift construction of the concrete structure, says Susan Matherne, marketing and business development manager at Gibbs Construction, who built out the design. “Through teamwork and collaboration, the 21-story structure went up in nine months and three weeks. Every 11 days a floor was complete.”

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02_Living Room_What If_© James Chororos

?What If! Innovation Partners
Each of the nine meetings rooms is decorated with custom wall coverings and ceiling panels and named for a different place in New York such as “Downtown,” “The U.N.,” and “The Upper East Side.” The reception area is meant to mimic a boutique hotel lobby. A custom chandelier of steel, globe lights, a recycled paper shade, and gold acrylic fins serves as its dramatic centerpiece.

22_Cafe 01_What If_© James Chororos

With no assigned desks, employees are free to roam from workspace to workspace. Phone booths, complete with iPad-controlled vacancy signs, offer privacy in the lobby and on the third floor.

20_1st Floor Mtg_What If_© James Chororos

JFK&M Engineers worked with Studio Mapos on another project, the LivePerson office. Their role included mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services. “It was a standout project that was very unique to us with the collaborative involvement of all,” says JFK&M partner Michael Jacob. “Here all the ductwork and mechanical work was exposed so you can see the work we did on the project.”

 

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Stuart Weitzman Showroom and Headquarters
Elements in the space Phillips calls “modern with a whimsical spirit,” like a Corian ribbon by Vision Woodworking and purple upholstery, are consistent with the brand’s retail store designs.

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Vision Woodworking also added to the cutting-edge look. In the firm’s 19 years of manufacturing for retail stores, this was the first project that required them to make a ping-pong ball wall. “To ensure the maximum ‘wow factor’ we had custom ping-pong balls with the Stuart Weitzman logo incorporated into the project,” says Mary Hornby-Kirkendall, Vision Woodworking national account executive.

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New York City-based engineering firm Robert Derector Associates seamlessly incorporated the audio-visual and telecommunications systems at the Stuart Weitzman showroom and headquarters so as not to take away from the striking visual effect of the space. “We coordinated all equipment with TPG to ensure we achieved the cutting-edge look Weitzman was going for,” says Anthony Lonigro, managing partner of the firm.

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Don’t Forget the Landscape!
When TPG Architecture needed a firm to design and install the terrace on another office project, for Irving Place Capital (pictured above), it turned to Manhattan-based landscape design/build firm PFI, which was founded by president and owner Teresa Carleo. “The challenge was to translate TPG’s vision—integrating plants and paving in a largely exposed space—within the 1,000-square-foot, partially shaded terrace,” says PFI’s landscape production manager MacKenzie Sharp. “Through the use of pavers and plantings, we made the greenery appear to be growing from the hardscape in a slightly asymmetrical pattern,” says lead landscape designer Michael Tull.

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Office Tour | You Work Where?!

Monday, August 5th, 2013

By Gwendolyn Purdom
Lamar Advertising HQ photos by Timothy Hursley
?What If! office photos by James Chororos
Stuart Weitzman HQ photos by Peter Margonelli

Creating an office environment that reflects a business’ mission is tricky enough, but one that sparks productivity and innovation, too? File that under “a job well done.” See what happened when these designers helped three companies think outside the cubicle.

 

Office Space:
Lamar Advertising Corporate Headquarters

Location:
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

411:
Light-filled new digs for the nation’s largest outdoor advertiser

Design:
Eskew + Dumez + Ripple

Employees Love:
THE VIEW
“You can always get a glimpse of the outside no matter where you are.”

With a behemoth 1970s former data center to work with, the EDR design team brought the outdoors in. “The idea was to create energy and excitement by opening up the inside, bringing landscape into the middle of the building, and really creating an environment that connected all three floors,” director of design Steve Dumez says. Aside from the central atrium, the renovation incorporated an oak-shaded patio, billboard imagery, and playful bleachers for company-wide meetings (and the occasional LSU football game screening). Employees appreciate the added natural light. As one staff member commented: “You can always get a glimpse of the outside no matter where you are.”

 

Office Space:
?What If! Innovation Partners

Location:
New York, New York

411:
A distinctively New York home for a brand innovation firm with offices in Europe and Asia

Design:
Studio Mapos

Employees Love:
THE GATHERING SPACE
“We wanted to take inspiration from places where people congregate and share ideas, so we thought about cafes, great hotel lobbies, and residential environments.”

Spaces that allow for collaboration, diverse work styles, and personalized touches were key in this historic East Village hospital turned office. That meant a small group work area laid out like a cafe, colorful wooden tables to share, and custom details like graphic-upholstered sound panels designed by ?What If! employees. “We wanted to take inspiration from places where people congregate and share ideas, so we thought about cafés, great hotel lobbies, and residential environments,” ?What If! inventing director Bart Higgins says. Uncovering original cast iron capitals and crown molding added character, too. “One of the things that we said to the client when we were getting started was, ‘Your biggest asset is the building itself,’” Studio Mapos principal Colin Brice says. “You don’t have a big budget; let’s leverage what you’re already paying money for in these great details.”

 

Office Space:
Stuart Weitzman Showroom and Headquarters

Location:
New York, New York

411:
Fun, personal touches in a high-end shoe designer’s new HQ

Design:
TPG Architecture

Employees Love:
OPEN SPACE
“It’s really nice to have a much more flexible and open space and be able to walk around the corner and talk to any department.”

High-end footwear wasn’t the only passion Stuart Weitzman wanted to showcase in his Manhattan headquarters. Nods to the shoe designer’s lifelong love of ping-pong are apparent in a conference room table that doubles as a playing surface and a reception area wall accented with white plastic balls. “It brought that personal statement of the founder front and center,” TPG principal Jim Phillips says. For Gary Rissler, director of store planning, the open floor plan is an upgrade. “We were in a pretty dysfunctional space before,” Rissler says, “so it’s really nice to have a much more flexible and open space and be able to walk around the corner and talk to any department.”

 

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