Interiors
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FXCollaborative Architects We believe in the power of intelligence, intuition, and interconnection to design a better world.
We build places that resonate and endure. We create impactful projects with aesthetic integrity and an enduring design character. Through a continuous exploration of holistic function and essential components, we implement a transparent, thoughtful, and rigorous design process that promotes excellence and sustainability.
We design with deep respect for our planet’s resources. Humanity is at a decisive point in its relationship with the natural world, and we must cease to build and dwell in ways that degrade the health of the planet, and ourselves. As leaders in green building, we are proud to create and advance sustainable, ecologically responsible environments.
We celebrate inclusion and collaboration. Context and ongoing conversation drive each and every one of our projects. We believe in the necessity and creative power of collaboration, and orchestrate a partnership with our clients, stakeholders, consultants, and in-house team from project outset to completion and beyond.
We embrace diversity and promote social responsibility. We are vigorously engaged in the reinvention and revitalization of the urban condition, and we are committed to the mindset that each component of that condition must contribute to the larger context and an ability to affect positive change. We owe our comprehensive approach and creative energy to our dynamic team, organized as a flexible network of focused design studios that allow for both specialized and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Mitsui Fudosan America Offices New York, NY Mitsui Fudosan America 12,000 GSF / 1,100 GSM
Mitsui Fudosan Americas, Inc (MFAI) is a real estate investment and development company headquartered in New York, NY. The Mitsui Fudosan Americas office renovation incorporates renovating its existing office space of approximately 12,000 square feet to provide a more open, flexible and collaborative space. Works includes providing an initial “test fit� space plan, in addition to finalizing the design, preparation of construction documents, assisting with furniture selection and administering the construction and installation. This work shall be identified as Part I of the scope of work.
Rockefeller Brothers Fund New York, NY Rockefeller Brothers Fund 29,000 GSF / 2,700 GSM LEED Platinum
Awards 2010 Environmental Design+Construction, Best Institutional Building (Honorable Mention)
We designed corporate offices for The Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s new location in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights. The resulting design creates an environment that resonates with staff, visitors, donors, and the non-profit community. A key feature of the office is the Grants Hub, a central place for staff to collaborate, discuss grant-related
issues, and review proposals. The space both highlights the core business of the Fund, and serves to further improve operational efficiencies. To counteract the low ceilings and small windows of the 1950s building, we embraced the sunlight by centrally-locating glassfronted offices, leaving the perimeter bright and open, and allowing sunlight
to reach the entire office. Our vision for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund coincides with the organization’s commitment to ensure that sustainability is incorporated holistically throughout the entire project. The office achieved a LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC.
Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town Management Office New York, NY Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town 16,400 GSF / 1,524 GSM
In an effort to consolidate its support services, Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town (PCVST) engaged us to design its new management services office. Due to its unique location on a steeply sloped site, the project transitions from an above-grade public entrance on the east side to a belowgrade employee entrance on the west. Employees enter into the “landing strip,� an informal, touch down meeting space and transition zone between the conference rooms and open office areas, capped by small meeting rooms at both ends. This collaboration area is visually defined by a wood floor and ceiling, in which oval LED light panels simulate skylights as natural daylight is not accessible in this area. Behind the landing strip, a tree branch graphic spans the glazed conference room wall, providing both privacy within the enclosed rooms and a dramatic backdrop for the informal meeting areas. Beyond this area, the open office space is washed with daylight from numerous skylights in a luminous, white, exposed ceiling, creating a sense of openness for the below-grade space. A benching furniture system provides maximum flexibility, while a series of small, glass-enclosed offices provide higher degrees of privacy. Guests and residents of the development arrive through the at-grade, east entrance. A small library and waiting area next to the reception desk serves a casual meeting point for guests. The tree branch graphic is repeated on the reception desk to provide continuity of color theme and branding throughout the project.
Corporate Headquarters New York, NY Completion 2018 240,000 GSF / 22,000 GSM
Our design for a government agency’s new headquarters will create an enhanced working environment that represents the quality and integrity of the agency’s work, culture, and mission. The new, three-floor Manhattan office will implement a flexible framework that promotes transparency and engagement throughout the organization and with the community. An additional, adjacent two floors are being renovated to accommodate an associated agency. By introducing a high ratio of shared to dedicated spaces, meeting spaces of varied types, and integrated technology and communication platforms, a collaborative environment will be created. Visual and tactile qualities incorporated into finishes will represent the hands-on nature of the agency, a communicating open stair with strategically placed hubs will further promote collaboration and active design. Scalable modules will de-emphasize hierarchy for a more inclusive working environment, and systematic, modular planning will allow for flexible growth and change for future space planning needs. A variety of working and breakout spaces will support a diverse range of working styles, with projects developed and showcased in an open manner.
MetLife Technology & Client Experience Center Cary, NC MetLife Completion 2019 125,000 GSF / 11,500 GSM LEED Platinum Anticipated
We are currently designing the fit-out of a newly constructed building known as R3 on MetLife’s campus in Cary, North Carolina. The six-story building’s new spaces are being crafted to achieve a high level of sustainability, reflect MetLife’s values and culture, and provide a best-in-class environment for approximately 650 MetLife associates. Interior layouts, furniture, and finishings are designed to align with the firm’s Global Workplace Strategy, with branded graphics, high-end fixtures, and a variety of client-facing, meeting, focused, and amenity spaces. The project will feature distinct zones known as MetLife Square, including public and client-facing areas; MetLife Clubs, themed collaborative spaces; and MetLife Neighborhoods, productive work environments with open workstations and offices, phone rooms, focus rooms, mother’s rooms, and support spaces. In addition, to support a healthy culture, the fit-out will include a range of branded amenity spaces such as dining and pantry spaces, a game room, doctor’s office, and mindfulness lab. Our design will serve the firm’s needs for years to come, with future phases offering a TechStar Technology Incubator and a Customer Service Center.
National Audubon Society Headquarters New York, NY National Audubon Society 25,000 GSF / 2,600 GSM LEED Platinum
Awards 2009 IIDA NY Lester Dundes Interior Design Award, Sustainable Design Category 2009 Environmental Design+Construction, Excellence in Design Award, Commercial Category 2009 CoreNet Global Sustainable Leadership and Design Award, Design/Interior Non-Profit Category
The National Audubon Society recently relocated to a full floor at 225 Varick Street. This former printing house offered high ceilings, full-height windows, and large floor plates that allowed all 125 staff members to be on one floor. Working closely with the client and their real estate advisors, we assisted with programming, test fits, feasibility, and lease reviews. The design for their new headquarters is inspired by their mission to “protect and restore vital ecosystems, and to ensure a
healthy environment for people, wildlife, and the earth’s natural resources.� The work space functions as a model for their environmental mission. Innovative features include: energy efficient systems, under-floor air distribution, open space planning to allow daylight penetration to the entire floor, occupancy sensors and controls, the use of recycled and locally-produced materials, and high indoor environmental quality.
OFS Brands Showroom New York, NY 10,000 GSF / 925 GSM LEED Certified
We recently designed the new OFS Brands showroom, a 10,000-square-foot space that showcases the latest in office furniture designs. Located in Lower Manhattan and boasting stunning views from the Empire State Building to the Hudson River, the design challenge was to create an environment that was flexible enough to accommodate a changing array of furniture in addition to supporting events and other industry related activities. The layout is purposely understated, with a primarily white color palette to avoid conflict with the vast variety of furniture finishes. The dynamic dropped ceiling plane showcases recessed lighting and linear diffusers, complementing the roughness of the exposed waffle featuring exposed pipes and devices. Polished quartz countertops in one area enhance the corrugated stone wall tile, and smooth white wall panels surround a large display while an adjacent wall features small panels of different depths which serve to activate the space.
Multimedia Entertainment Company Offices New York, NY Confidential Client 55,000 GSF / 5,100 GSM LEED Silver
We designed the renovation of a landmarked former military building on Manhattan’s west side to house new corporate offices for a global multimedia entertainment company. The three-story building, previously a television studio, now accommodates approximately 240 employees. While the landmarked shell remains, additional mezzanine levels were added to the interior, increasing the overall area to 55,000 square feet. The renovation restores original features and introduces skylights in order to maximize
and harvest natural daylight into the space. Glass partitions increase the visual transparency and allow light to filter throughout the offices and workstations. Breakout and gathering spaces provide room for informal meetings and group working sessions. Conference rooms and common areas balance the public/private aspect of the program. The renovation reveals the antique industrial character of the early 1900s building, while a dynamic modern appearance identifies the new elements.
Awards 2014 International Design Awards, Gold Award—Renovation 2013 Contract Magazine, Interior Awards—Adaptive Reuse
SAP Americas Headquarters Newtown Square, PA SAP America, Inc. 425,000 GSF / 40,000 GSM Phase I: 210,000 GSF LEED Platinum Designed to Earn the Energy Star
We designed the corporate headquarters and interiors for an environmentally-responsible Germany-based software company. The twophase complex complements the existing structure by integrating the office campus into the topography while preserving views of the wooded-site. Offices are focused on the north side of the building to capitalize on landscape views, with service and fixed elements grouped together in nodes along an anchoring spine. As a design hallmark, the south-facing laminated wood atrium is shaded by warmly–detailed brise soleil that reduces sun penetration, while framing views of the inner courtyard and facilitating natural air circulation emanating from an underfloor displacement air system. Green roofs further weave the structure into the landscape, serving as part of a calibrated system of sustainable strategies. This is the first LEED Platinum building of its type in the mid-Atlantic region.
Awards 2011 Boston Society of Architects, Sustainable Design Awards 2010 International Commercial Property Award (Americas) 2010 AIA New York State Award of Merit, Large Commercial 2010 The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award 2010 Society of American Registered Architects Professional Design Award 2010 Environmental Design+Construction, Best Commercial Building (Finalist) 2010 MIPIM Award, Business Center (Finalist) 2010 Society of Environmental Graphic Design, Merit Award 2009 The Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award
Asia Society Office New York, NY Asia Society 6,000 GSF / 557 GSM
The 6,000-square-foot, full-floor renovation will convert an existing cramped, low ceiling office space into an open workspace for a think-tank with multiple points of access to light and views. A new boardroom with a folding glass wall will allow for expansion into a function space, with an adjacent pantry concealed within a wall of millwork. A new cafĂŠ accommodates the adjacent floors to provide a node at one axis of the floor plan, and finishes will emphasize biophilic connections to create a serene, tranquil work environment.
Pace University Repositioning New York, NY Pace University Completion 2018 (Phase I) 55,000 GSF / 5,100 GSM
Focusing on Pace University’s One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row buildings, we designed distinct spaces and identities for the Lubin School of Business, the Dyson College of Arts & Sciences, and the Pace Performing Arts programs. A new student “living room” is an open and flexible student-centric space that reinforces campus community and encourages collaboration and spontaneous conversation, while
learning spaces in various scales and characters accommodate both the collective and quiet learners. The new spaces in One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row offer increased view corridors to the outdoors, and direct and secure access to the courtyard from the sidewalk. An extensive green roof will create a new green “quad” for Pace and further aid in connecting the university and
its students to the city. In a following phase, a vertical expansion to One Pace Plaza will add approximately 60,000 square feet of much-needed space. Redistributed classrooms, labs, event spaces, student services, student lounge, and administration will maximize flow and continuity, improve circulation and access, and link academic and social spaces.
The New School Arnhold Hall Cultural Center New York, NY The New School 27,000 GSF / 2,500 GSM
The design of The New School Arnhold Hall Cultural Center employs accents of light to guide visitors through the experience of the space. The project is the final stage in the conversion of a 19th-century former department store to academic use as part of the university’s urban campus. Encompassing the redesign of the first, mezzanine, and second floors, the project provides a new venue for academic and performing arts events serving the university’s diverse student population. Flexible multi-purpose spaces accommodate large and small meetings, dinners, entertainment, executive dining, pre-function events, and exhibits. Anchored by a distinctive staircase leading to the second floor, the lobby was renovated and expanded. A site-specific artwork by Sol LeWitt stretches from the front door to the second floor and identifies this location as one of the main buildings within the university.
The Forge Long Island City, NY Purves Street Owners, LLC Completion 2017 265,700 GSF / 25,000 GSM LEED Silver Anticipated
Some New Yorkers prefer to look upon Manhattan rather than live within it, but they don’t want to sacrifice the conveniences of urban living. The Forge, a 38-story residential tower located on a quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac in Long Island City, Queens, presents an appealing alternative: high-end units enhanced by a range of amenities and convenient access to public transportation. A wedge-shaped site and stringent zoning requirements presented many challenges, but we viewed these constraints as opportunities for creativity. We conceived a slender tower with stepped massing—a “julienne” scheme comprising four bars of varying heights that maximize daylight and views toward the
Awards 2018 AIA Brooklyn–Queens Design Award, Award of Excellence
East River and Manhattan, all while preserving outdoor zones that have been transformed into amenities including a landscaped courtyard, sculpture garden, lap pool, and movie screening area, as well as an al fresco dining space. Public amenities also abound on the interior. Residents mingle within the double-height lobby and a communal living room, and there is a plethora of spaces tailored to more specific needs: a fitness center, a business bar, and a playroom for children. Units range from studios to one and two bedrooms, all of which feature Feng shui–certified layouts with oak flooring, quartz countertops, and high-end appliances.
1 North 4th Place Brooklyn, NY Douglaston Development LLC Completion 2015 500,000 GSF / 46,500 GSM
This luxury 41-story residential tower’s floor-to-ceiling glass and vertical metal panel design, coupled with its premier location, offers residents spectacular and unobstructed 270-degree views of the East River, Manhattan skyline, and beyond. The first high-rise rental project along the Williamsburg waterfront, 1 North 4th Place comprises studio, one-,
two-, and three-bedroom apartments and extensive fitness and recreational amenities, including an outdoor pool and terrace overlooking the river. The tower is part of a four-phase master plan that includes an expansive open space plan featuring a fishing pier, waterfront esplanade, and upland connections.
Circa Central Park New York, NY Artimus Construction Completion 2017 125,000 GSF / 11,600 GSM LEED Silver
FXCollaborative designed this 125,000-square-foot, 11-story mixed-use building with residential, retail, and community facility space as well as parking for approximately 50 cars. Circa Central Park occupies a remarkably privileged location on the northwest circle of Central Park, serving as a nexus between Harlem, the Upper West Side, and the Park. Its confident contemporary design—an architectural essay in arcs and lines—rises to the occasion, creating a memorable addition to the cityscape. The environmentallyresponsive façade incorporates large expanses of glass for views over Central Park and sun-drenched interior spaces. At the same time, shading elements temper unwanted glare and heat gain. The residences were crafted with special attention to site lines and progression through spaces. The result is rooms and spaces that feel bigger and more connected. The materials of the interior finishes extend Central Park’s essential character of greenery, wood, and stone.
Awards 2017 Interior Design—Best of Year Award, Honorable Mention 2017 The Brick Industry Association, Brick in Architecture Award 2016 Big Apple Brownfield Award—Economic Development
The NOMA New York, NY Alchemy Properties Inc Completion 2018 106,000 GSF / 10,000 GSM
FXCollaborative’s 24-story mixeduse development features open plan interiors and overlooks 34th Street and Herald Square in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood. The tower is comprised of two floors of retail at its base, 55 residential units with sweeping city views, and a fifth floor that includes a landscaped amenity terrace, library, lounge, and fitness area. The tower’s banded, brick-andwindow façade is a modern take on the streamlined aesthetics of the 1930s— a reference to nearby former factories and retailers. Amenity spaces are detailed with blackened steel accents, wood ceilings, and warehouse-style lighting, completing the design’s modern industrial vision.
Mixed-Use Development New York, NY Completion 2022 950,000 GSF / 87,250 GSM
This 58-story, 930-unit mixed-use residential building is located adjacent to the Hudson Yards development and the High Line on Manhattan’s West Side. The building provides a transition from the towering scale of Hudson Yards to the lower scale of West Chelsea, acting as “foothills” to Hudson Yards. FXCollaborative has helped take the project through a complex ULURP rezoning process, which will make it one of the first projects to gain additional air rights by contributing to the development and maintenance of Hudson River Park. The ground floor includes an 8,500-square-foot retail space, a 900-squarefoot café and retail space, a double-height lobby, and a 200-car parking garage. The building will have 25,000 square-feet of residential interior amenity space, and over 18,000 square-feet of outdoor terraces on three levels.
Residential Building New York, NY Completion 2019 25,000 GSF / 2,300 GSM
FXCollaborative is designing a Brooklyn mixed-use building with two distinct characters: a warm, light stone composition with bronze metal work that references the historic buildings nearby, and a more fluid, horizontally-expressed tower that floats above. These characters relate to the two contexts the building responds to: its location at the edge of its neighborhood, and its adjacency to the waterfront facing Manhattan. Residences are crafted as oases, with one, two, and three-bedroom high-end luxury apartments featuring generously proportioned rooms, direct views of the water with wall-to-wall westfacing windows, and multiple internal connections and circulation between rooms along the glazed exterior to enhance an open flow and feeling of spaciousness. Residential amenity spaces include an outdoor pool, expansive dining terrace, and a wellness suite.
Proto Kendall Square Cambridge, MA Boston Properties Completion 2018 220,000 GSF / 20,400 GSM LEED Silver Anticipated
In Cambridge’s housing-starved Kendall Square, a physicallyconstrained site proved a big challenge: how do you transform an office and university-dominated neighborhood into a vibrant mixeduse residential community? The key was to reimagine the structure as an agent of change at the urban scale. We petitioned the city to reclaim 15 feet of Ames Street to find more space for the building and reconfigure the streetscape, creating a friendlier pedestrian connection between the innovation hub of Kendall Square and the university life of East Cambridge. The resulting tower is carefully mediated both in massing and façade between the varying scales and contexts of its surroundings. Proto reinvigorates the area and creates a visual anchor in the neighborhood with its diversity of uses, improving the public realm, promoting a sense of place, and strengthening a culture of innovation in Kendall Square.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn Hotel Brooklyn, NY Pearl Realty Management Completion 2018 88,434 GSF / 8,216 GSM
We are designing a hotel and restaurant in two existing former industrial buildings near the Brooklyn Waterfront. Part of our master plan for a new mixed-use development, the hotel occupies an eightstory concrete-frame building, while the restaurant is housed in an adjacent wood-
frame former poultry distribution facility. The renovated buildings will house public amenities including the restaurant, function spaces, a rooftop terrace with a bar and swimming pool, and a health club. Retail space will front the street on the ground floor.
555 E Street Washington, DC E Street Development Group, LLC Completion 2020 300,000 GSF / 28,000 GSM LEED Gold Anticipated
FXCollaborative designed a new 12-story mixed-use building in Southwest Washington, DC that extends a full block. Retail and lobby spaces on the ground floor fill the full site, while above, a U-shaped floor plate contains a combination of hotel and residential uses. The building includes below-grade parking and amenities, such as central courtyards, shared by the hotel and residences on the second floor. The addition of this building will leverage the site’s adjacency to the National Mall, activate street life, and add program diversity to the predominantly commercial office building neighborhood. The building is designed to take advantage of the views of national monuments and DC waterfront, as well as the high profile access to the 395 corridor. The design will also reflect recent changes to the DC Heights Act, by providing an active rooftop space as an additional amenity for residents and hotel guests.
History of Sustainability Our projects continue to set new standards in environmentallyresponsible design. Our project teams are currently working towards achieving goals of Passive House, ecological restoration, and Net Zero Energy.
We have built upon the knowledge of founding principal Bruce Fowle, whose early experience designing solar-responsive, naturally-ventilated homes led FXCollaborative to become a pioneer in the green building movement. These early explorations led to an innovative approach rooted in conservationist values. We soon became known for taking sustainable design to new heights, with the first green high-rise in Shanghai, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1992); and in New York, the Condé Nast Building at 4 Times Square (1999). As the first green skyscraper in the United States, 4 Times Square’s unprecedented integration of sustainable design principles and technologies—all implemented for the first time at this scale—galvanized the green building movement and was a catalyst for the development of the USGBC LEED rating system. The firm’s pioneering Battery Park City Sustainable Guidelines propelled sustainable development in New York City.
These founding values continue to inspire the firm to advance sustainable design to help improve the state of the planet. Our projects represent the assimilation of years of knowledge and technical expertise building sustainable environments congruous with clients’ values. Our work has a distinguished record of achieving performance metrics of sustainability and energy-efficiency, including LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, ENERGY STAR, the 2030 Challenge, and other international rating systems. We continue to advance our sustainability objectives and expertise, currently focusing on Passive House and Net Zero Energy projects. In addition to nearly all our staff having LEED accreditation, the firm has seven Certified Passive House Designers and Consultants and is actively involved in the Passive House community. We have an extensive sustainable building portfolio, with more than 21 million square feet of LEED certified space, including seven Platinum Certified and eight Gold Certified projects. Projects range in typology from historic buildings to city master plans, and in scale from commercial interiors to urban skyscrapers.
Integrated Project Approach Our holistic design approach relies on professionals with both broad and specialized expertise, working in an open and inclusive process.
At the onset of each project, we facilitate a series of sustainability workshops with the owner, engineers, interior designer, landscape architect, construction manager, and other key team members. The workshops enable this diverse group to work collaboratively in establishing sustainable project goals, and to develop a framework and roadmap for realizing them. Because of this collaborative approach, our teams are founded on relationships of experience, creativity, cooperation, and communication. Our role is to guide and orchestrate the realization of these environmental objectives within the greater context of aesthetic, programmatic, economic, and technical requirements. We begin each design process with a comprehensive environmental analysis. Using building performance modeling software, we develop an early understanding of the environmental conditions of a project site, including temperature, humidity, daylight hours, insulation, precipitation, cloud cover, wind, and other seasonal variations.
This preliminary analysis informs our concept development, enabling us to integrate environmentallyresponsive passive strategies from a project’s inception. As the project evolves, we continue to use these tools to evaluate thermal performance of building envelope details and to understand the impact of specifying selected products. Building Information Modeling (BIM) assists the team in evaluating how design decisions relate to environmental conditions, and enables us to optimize building performance. The results of these analyses help us achieve more ambitious sustainability goals. BIM is a natural fit for our integrated approach, providing a powerful tool to interweave sustainable and tectonic design strategies. For us, a sustainable building does not end at project completion. Following construction, we have developed in-house post-occupancy analysis surveys and reports, evaluating building performance and occupant comfort. We frequently develop sustainable guidelines, manuals, and educational programs for occupants and facility managers to ensure that a project remains as environmentally-responsible as possible throughout its lifetime.
FXCollaborative Architects Gerard F.X. Geier II, FAIA, FIIDA, LEED AP Managing Partner
Kenneth Bohall, CPA, LEED GA Chief Financial Officer
Daniel J. Kaplan, FAIA, LEED AP Senior Partner
Elizabeth Finkelshteyn
Sylvia J. Smith, FAIA, LEED AP Senior Partner Mark E. Strauss, FAIA, AICP/PP, LEED AP Senior Partner Heidi L. Blau, FAIA, LEED AP Partner Stephan Dallendorfer, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP Partner Brian Fanning, AIA, LEED AP Partner Nicholas Garrison, FAIA, OAQ, LEED AP Partner Angie Lee, AIA, IIDA Partner, Design Director—Interiors Tim Milam, AIA, LEED AP Partner, Managing Director Jack Robbins, AIA, LEED AP Partner, Director of Urban Design Gustavo Rodriguez, AIA, CODIA, LEED AP Partner Ann M. Rolland, FAIA, LEED AP Partner John Schuyler, AIA, LEED AP Partner Michael Syracuse, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Partner
Alfreda Radzicki, AIA, LEED AP Principal Irina Rice, Esq., LEED AP General Counsel Bruce S. Fowle, FAIA, LEED AP Founding Principal Emeritus Sudhir S. Jambhekar, FAIA, RIBA, LEED AP Senior Principal Emeritus
FXCollaborative Architects 22 West 19 Street New York, NY 10011 main +1 212 627 1700 fax +1 212 463 8716
New York Washington DC info@fxcollaborative.com www.fxcollaborative.com