After 25+ years in Rockefeller Center, Gensler relocated its New York office to 1700 Broadway in October 2016. It was time for a refresh, and the new 120,000 square-foot space does just that. There's a buzz of energy, creativity and collaboration like they've never had before. The office is designed to provide opportunities for socialization and innovation, while simultaneously reinforcing the company's culture.
With a dramatic staircase, intelligent lighting, and culturally branded details, the new office is a backstage look at what makes a design firm tick. There is a 20-foot illuminated marquee running through the multi-floor interconnected central open space. Red neon lights line the perimeter of each floor and from the street, you can see five floors glowing red from above the company's brand statement.
In an effort to maximize innovation and creativity, the design includes an abundance of amenities, conference rooms, and specialized meeting areas. The workplace features sit-stand desks and a bike room to encourage health and wellbeing. A digital lab, model shop, design center, visualization theatre, work cafes, and collaboration avenues - primary circulation routes that contain flexible spots for impromptu meetings, storage for materials and reference publications, and demountable sliding pin-up boards.
Additionally, Gensler expanded its former sample library to create a world-class design center that combines forces with the technical team to provide the designers with access to building materials, technical data, and inspiration on a round-the-clock basis.
An agile floorplate became an opportunity for the office to build creative communities on each floor, linked together vertically with many of the adjacent meeting spaces via a landing and internal bridges. This formed an organizational innovation where these floors are branded as collaborative studios (Co-Labs) that share expertise, best practices, and team members. All to enhance flexibility and enable the design process.
Credits:
- Cerami
- AV-Controls (AV&C)
- HDLC Architectural Lighting
- Gensler
- Structure Tone LLC
- Gilsanz Murray Steficek, LLP
- Robert Derector Associates