Spacesmith Workplaces

Firm Profile

Founded in 1998, Spacesmith is an architecture, planning, and interior design firm based in New York City. Just as the word “smith” means “to craft, forge, or design,” the name Spacesmith reflects a commitment to the tradition of great craftsmanship, heightened service, and design excellence. Spacesmith is made up of a tight-knit group of professionals in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, project management, programming, master planning, sustainability, and wellness. The diversity of our team and practice areas allows for knowledge sharing in a world that is constantly evolving.

With a wide-ranging portfolio of mission-driven clients, Spacesmith has completed work for city, state, and federal agencies, schools, non-profit institutions, and private sector clients in fashion, finance, and media.

Our strategic approach to workplace design focuses on the use of proprietary research methods and processes to create an environment that serves to increase employee performance, agility, well-being, and morale; aid in the recruitment and retention of talent; reduce operation and facilities costs; and further the organization’s corporate culture and brand presence.

Collaboration is integral to our firm’s design process. Through open, ongoing dialogue, we draw from the expertise of team members and the insight of our clients to encourage innovative thinking and exploration of design possibilities.

Spacesmith is committed to designing healthy, energy efficient, and environmentally sensitive buildings and interior spaces. We seek sustainable methods, systems, and materials with the belief that buildings not only need to less harmful, but part of the environmental solution. For our firm, the very best projects are the ones that transcend trends and are relevant for decades.

MarketAxess New York, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: Site Selection, New Workplace Design

Size: 83,000 sf/Three-stories

Repeat client MarketAxess engaged Spacesmith to provide a workplace strategy report and subsequent design as the fintech firm relocated to a larger HQ in Hudson Yards. The 83,000 sf space expresses a major rebranding effort focusing on transparency and a high-performance office designed as a launching pad for product development. The client requested areas for open communication, collaborative interaction, and executive summits, as well as an environment that could attract new hires and allow for future growth.

The program was organized with executive areas, the boardroom, and conference rooms on the main reception floor, sales on the middle floor, and IT and software development on the top floor. Only 10% of the workplaces are private offices. Glass walls are utilized throughout for transparency and the penetration of natural light. Informal breakout areas, shared pantries, and a large café/lounge all serve as gathering spots.

The collaboration opportunities range from a variety of enclosed rooms with full tech capability and moving partitions to huddle areas and phone rooms that accommodate two to four people.

A signature feature is the thematic, three-story, angular wood wall sculpture along the floating staircase that connects each floor at reception. This self-supporting marble stair is wrapped with glass balustrades and guardrails, impressing visitors with views up and down, as well as creating a central focus that unifies employees.

The overall palette of the design is clean, modern, and neutral with pops of color along the core walls and in the furniture. The main receiving floor has an elegant look with whitewashed, ash walls, marble flooring, and grey porcelain tile. As guests venture up, the décor begins to include more color to inspire creativity. The top floor features custom murals painted by world-renown graffiti artist, Crash.

Boies Schiller Flexner New

York, NY

Role: Executive Architect

Scope: New Workplace Design

Size: 83,000 sf

Award: Best Commercial Office, Interior Design Magazine, 2019

Spacesmith was engaged by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF) as executive architect on the build-out of their new headquarters. Our team worked closely with design architect Schiller Projects on the execution of the fourstory space, floors 18-21, covering 110,730 sf. The goal of this project was to challenge the traditional hierarchical design of law offices and provide more spaces that foster collaboration, communication, and innovation.

To achieve this switch in culture, the design flips the script on the long-established layouts of legal offices. The majority of partner offices are now located along the core, as opposed to the corner. They feature floor to ceiling glass enclosures, recessed lighting, and custom curvilinear concrete walls. Each workstation is equipped with custom sit-to-stand white oak desks and has sight lines out to panoramic views of the Hudson River. Associates and paralegals share semi-open workspaces at the perimeter in groups of four. Within twenty-five feet of every attorney’s desk are breakout spaces with adjustable height desks and full digital services for up to five people, designed to support impromptu meetings.

A large, 4,000 sf, multi-use cafeteria with an on-site barista is located on the 19th floor. An operable partition allows the space to be transformed from an all-staff assembly area into smaller, more intimate rooms for trainings or meetings. Formal meeting rooms throughout are connected to smaller huddle spaces and to what the client refers to as the “library,” a quiet space to retreat to.

A centralized, open staircase connects floors 19-21 and promotes employee activity and interaction. Hanging within is an impressive sculpture of overlapping, metalbeaded cables that visually connects the main reception to the floors above. A grand gesture, it stands out among the monolithic, curved concrete walls and black terrazzo flooring throughout.

Boies Schiller Flexner New York, NY

New US Embassy Ankara, Turkey

Role: Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: New US Embassy

Size: 270,000 sf

The new US Embassy in Ankara was designed by lead architect Ennead Architects in collaboration with a full team of consultants, including Spacesmith as interior architect, for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO). The new Embassy balances transparency and openness with security while honoring Turkey’s historic architecture. Meeting OBO’s sustainability, resilience, and stewardship goals, Spacesmith designed a host of functional facilities that ensure a robust platform for U.S. diplomacy abroad.

It was crucial for Spacesmith to create work and support spaces that were both flexible and functional. After a series of iterative flexibility and densification studies, our team designed large, open suites that can quickly adapt to changes in staffing needs. Spaces for growth, either in the form of desks or convertible collaboration areas, are evenly distributed to give departments room to expand or contract with minimal disruption. Support zones with shared storage, touch-down spaces, and mail and recycling stations provide a layer of separation and privacy between teams.

By introducing areas for shared storage, our design team streamlined the typical workstation cluster and reduced the need for personal paper storage at each desk. Given the long life span of the facility, the adaptability of these

clusters ensures that personnel can increase the desk count by up to 33% within the existing footprint. In an environment where staff numbers are prone to sudden fluctuations, it is essential for these spaces to meet the ever-evolving needs of their tenants.

Additional amenities for staff and their families include a gym, bank, commissary, visitor and community liaison offices, and a pool cabana.

Referencing the country’s material palette, marble and travertines, native wood varieties, and local ceramics are incorporated throughout the interior and exterior, connecting the Embassy to its local context. Having achieved LEED Silver certification, the building exemplifies efficient design.

New US Embassy Ankara, Turkey

Abrams Books New York, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: Site Selection, New Workplace Design

Size: 40,000 sf

Repeat client Abrams Books called upon Spacesmith for the site selection and design of their new headquarters as the publishing giant had outgrown its space and desired a shift in culture to be more open and inclusive. Our team evaluated multiple locations while developing new workplace standards to provide Abrams’ editors with flexible areas for collaboration, heads-down work, and both in-house and industry events, as well as enhanced amenities.

A 19th-century landmarked building was chosen giving Spacesmith the opportunity to juxtapose the iconic with the new, a nod to Abrams long history in the publishing industry and its contemporary branding effort.

Multiple workplace strategies were studied, and Abrams chose a 90% open workplace, a departure from their previous HQ. Our team participated in town halls, strategy sessions, and showroom tours to help guide leadership through change management.

Our team highlighted an industrial-style palette by maintaining the existing terra cotta ceiling and exposed

wide-flange beams. The lobby utilizes glass office fronts to create a visual line directly into the 3,000-book library of Abrams’ extensive catalog, housed on over 600 linear feet of custom-made, blackened steel and raw oak displays. Boothlike reading nooks are nestled throughout and a rolling ladder navigates the 10’ tall stacks.

Opposite reception is a flexible breakout space sprinkled with colorful, easily reconfigured lounge furniture, orbited by a pantry, banquette seating, and lunchroom. This community area is adjacent to a conference room with a movable door panel system that can recess into the wall cavity, opening this zone for large events or staff meetings.

EarthCam

Upper Saddle River, NJ

Role: Architecture/Interior Design

Scope: Site Selection, New Workplace Design

Size: 46,000 sf

Award: Best Small Project, ENR Magazine, 2018

The goal of this extensive renovation was to transform a former, 48,000 sf factory and warehouse into a new, vibrant HQ for webcam technology leader EarthCam. The main challenge was to take a nondescript, onestory building and create a modern, corporate campus that would boost employee well-being, engagement, and teamwork, as well as promote brand.

A key element of the design is a new, dramatic, threestory entry atrium with a video wall that holds multiple LED panels. Held in a 6-ton, steel-framed structure that projects above the building mass, this sloping, 25-foottall video portal is wrapped by a glass curtain wall, creating an impressive welcome. The roof pitch above the entry was calculated for optimal viewing of video content from outside the building. This prominent feature showcases EarthCam’s primary business: live streaming webcam content.

At the heart of the reimagined 11,000 sf main office space is a custom, 180-foot-long serpentine desking system that connects the programming lab, creative studio, and sales department, promoting collaboration. Enclosed offices, additional work areas, break-out rooms, and a large, colorful communal kitchen (with views to outdoor seating and a foosball and air hockey table) line the building periphery.

While the manufacturing and warehouse areas beyond required little renovation, the project included recladding the entire façade. The cement block building was painted and clad with a new system of innovative, architectural stabilized, aluminum foam panels made from 50% recycled materials that act as a sun shield, reducing energy consumption during the day. At night, the porous cladding’s many small openings are backlit by 3,500 custom-manufactured LED lighting fixtures, suggesting digital video pixels.

EarthCam

Upper Saddle River, NJ

New York Legal Assistance Group

New York, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: Site Selection, New Workplace Design Size: 56,000 sf

Spacesmith designed a new headquarters for nonprofit New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) which provides free civil legal services to New Yorkers. The goal of the consolidation was to provide an approachable and welcoming environment to clients signaling that, although services are pro bono, NYLAG is a top-notch, high quality law firm. Our team worked alongside developer GFP Real Estate LLC and broker Cushman and Wakefield to transition NYLAG from 3 floors into 1 1/2 floors of an efficient, connected, modern workspace. Spacesmith led the exploration of

various rentable square foot scenarios and assisted the brokerage team in reaching an agreement of a 56,000 square-foot spread between 11/2 continuous floors with a connecting stair.

The new workplace required a variety of space types that address the critical need for privacy, while remaining within a strict budget. Our team defined a program for the rectangular-shaped floor plate that reduced the number of closed offices drastically, specifying open workstations along the building’s long window walls to ensure natural light reached far into the space. Private offices line the shorter sides and hold full glass office fronts, allowing additional daylight to

filter in. To maintain the need for privacy, a translucent film was applied to portions of the glass walls, and solid wood doors were specified for sound proofing. The remainder of the space is composed of a variety of meeting rooms ranging from a single-person focus room to a 57-person conference room. A connecting stair joins the floors and promotes activity and interaction.

Adhering to trauma-informed design guidelines, a durable materials palette of cool colors and natural woods was chosen to create a calm, comfortable, and inviting ambiance that is relaxing and stabilizing to patrons. Reclaimed wood flooring was utilized for the client facing areas and the connecting stair.

SCO Family of Services

Genovese Family Life Center

Queens, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: Site Selection, New Workplace Design

Size: 56,000 sf

As part of an ongoing relationship with human services provider SCO Family of Services, Spacesmith renovated four-stories of office space into a community center offering foster care services, medical and mental health support, and residential and youth justice programs. The goal was to transform an outdated and overcrowded facility into a new and efficient workplace with robust client program spaces in a welcoming and safe environment. As many of SCO’s clients are under duress, this human-centric design takes into consideration the principles of trauma-informed design.

Through programming exercises, vision sessions, and testfits, our team arranged the center with the highly trafficked public spaces on the first floor — a foster care medical suite, a family visiting area, and mental health counseling. The second and third floors accommodate additional mental health and foster care programs, while the fourth floor is dedicated to residential and youth justice programs. Our team identified that more than 50% of SCO’s staff could be assigned a “mobile” space type and still have a designated seat. A new benching system was put into place allowing for an increase in the available square feet for alternate workspaces and amenities.

Utilizing trauma-informed design concepts, the material palette throughout focuses on creating a soothing and safe space – aesthetically pleasing but not overwhelming and complicated. Cool colors that have a calming effect and inspiring/uplifting fixtures and finishes are found throughout, as well as biophilic themed wall prints to connect patrons with nature – found to reduce stress and pain and improve mood. Additional research suggested weighted furniture with radiused edges to avoid violent events; reception chairs with high backs to offer a sense of comfort; anti-glare lighting to help put clients at ease; and acoustic fabric wall coverings for case worker privacy.

New York University University Development and Alumni Relations

New York, NY

Spacesmith collaborated with Davis Brody Bond on the design of a new headquarters for NYU’s University Development and Alumni Relations division (UDAR). Comprised of five groups, UDAR had been working in outdated, ad hoc spaces dispersed across NYU’s urban campus. NYU tasked the team with crafting a new workplace strategy and design that would provide the correct type of individual and focused spaces needed for its staff, as well as for collaboration opportunities and amenities.

Taking inspiration from the building’s industrial heritage, our concept is neat, clean, and open. The design utilizes the floor’s 10-foot ceilings to assist in daylight filtration and air circulation, and incorporates existing historic elements, such as arched windows and exposed columns.

The floor plan is organized into five, clearly defined zones–one for each group comprising UDAR. Each is separated by full-height volumes set back from the perimeter windows to house offices, meeting rooms, breakout areas, and support spaces. The area between the volumes and the window wall provides additional, open meeting space, as well as a secondary circulation route.

All offices have glass fronts to provide a visual connection between leadership and staff. Open plan workstations are outfitted with electronic, heightadjustable standing desks, ample work surfaces, and storage, including a personal locker. Low-height workstation surrounds provide visual privacy when seated and further assist in bringing in natural light, as well as opening sight lines. Collaboration areas range from large, multi-person, enclosed meeting rooms with technology to semi-private team areas, quiet rooms, and telephone rooms.

The color palette takes its cue from the steel and concrete of the New York City skyline, and is largely white, grey, and black, accentuated with pops of colors throughout including NYU purple in various shades.

Bacardi-Martini New York, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: Office Renovation

Size: 4,000 sf

The Bacardi-Martini pied-à-terre is a colorful, vibrant space used by executives and their visitors. Casual or formal meetings can be hosted in open or enclosed areas that offer flexible seating and technology. Two terraces with stunning views of the New York Public Library and Bryant Park are also utilized for gatherings and working outdoors. Our design concept was a simple yet substantial dichotomy: maintain the brand aesthetic and borrow from the classic library archetype.

Upon entering, visitors step into an intimate lounge separated from the receptionist by a custom-made, freestanding storage and art display unit. Directly to the right, a large, telepresence conference room leads out to the east terrace. To the left are three, glass fronted executive offices and an flexible space for guests. The “library” follows — an additional conference room which displays the brand’s signature bottles on floating, oak veneer shelves that frame a large piece of Cuban artwork. It is through this library that guests can retreat to the west terrace. The two outdoor terraces, prized real estate in NYC, were designed in collaboration with Studio Rhodeside Harwell Landscape Architecture.

Global Brands Group New York, NY

Role: Executive Architect

Scope: Consolidation Women’s Apparel Brands

Size: 100,000 sf

Spacesmith acted as executive architect in the build out of 100,000 sf of space in the Empire State Building for repeat client Global Brands Group, consolidating several women’s apparel brands onto one floor. The client requested a space where their sales and corporate teams, brand designers, and back-office employees could work seamlessly togetheR.

The program includes over 25 showrooms, multiple work areas, a fabric library, pattern making room, model fitting rooms, offices, lounges, and a state-of-the-art telepresence room. Our team worked closely with Hong Kong based architecture firm B&Co’s on the design which mimics a downtown loft, taking advantage of the 17-foot-high ceilings.

The client requested an industrial aesthetic to reflect the day-to-day activities of garment production. Concrete floors were hand-troweled, custom millwork retains its natural

wood finish, and hanging Edison bulbs help illuminate the space. Pipes, ducts, and brickwork were left exposed to enhance the high ceilings and loft-like atmosphere. A neutral color palette creates a tranquil setting for employees.

Adhering to the stringent sustainability standards of the Empire State Building, efficient mechanical and temperature control systems were integrated, and low VOC finishes, paints, and adhesives were used. This project achieved a LEED-CI Gold certification.

RED - Sony Music New York, NY

Role: Architecture/Interior Design, FF&E Design

Scope: New Workplace Design

Size: 20,000 sf

The goal of this renovation was to create a vibrant and dynamic headquarters for RED, a leader in independent music development and distribution. The client requested an open office for collaboration and team work with break-out areas for focused work, as well as flexibility to host industry events and town halls.

Reception sets the tone with a colorful area for meet and greets, as well as an eat-in pantry at the back. To one side, a custom wall display of guitars signed by RED’s artists acts as an inspiring back drop for in-house performances by musicians represented by RED. To the other side, graffiti-painted, corrugated steel gates lead into a large conference room. These unique gates recess into the ceiling, transforming reception into a impressive space for large events. A tapered corridor connects the pantry into the main office area.

High ceilings and exposed ductwork create an industrial, loft-like atmosphere with private offices book-ending the main, open work area at the heart of the space. Workstations are framed by break-out rooms modeled after sound booths.

Select Clients

CORPORATE

Abrams Books

Abington Properties

AdMedia Partners

Bacardi-Martini Rossi

Bankers Trust

BBDO Worldwide

BlackRock

Braver Stern

Brookfield Properties

Brooklyn Brewery

Boies Schiller Flexner

Chase Manhattan Bank

Christofferson Robb

Citibank

Crédit Agricole

EarthCam

Ericsson Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corporation

George Weiss & Associates

Globo TV

Gray Healthcare

Grubb & Ellis Offices

Guardian Life Insurance

Heraeus Inc.

IBM Procurement

Interpublic Group - GlobalHue

IPath

Jack Resnick & Sons

Jupiter Communications

Lowe & Partners

Major League Soccer

MarketAxess

Momentum

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

MTV Networks

Peterson Management Services

Pseudo Programs

The Publishing Agency

Quad

Quantum Management

RED Distribution - Sony Music

Riverview Center

Sun Studios

T-Capital

Titleserv

TradingScreen

Upriver Film & Television Studios

Viacom

Wilkinson O’Grady

Zirinsky Realty Co.

NON-PROFIT

Breaking Ground

Brooklyn Community Services

Building & Construction Trades

Council

Consortium of Workers Education

Daytop Village

Doubleday Babcock Senior Center

Emerging Markets Trades Association

Family Justice Center

Forge

French American Chamber of Commerce

Hearst Foundation

Interchurch Center

International Rescue Committee

Local Six

New York Legal Assistance Group

NYC Central Labor Council

Operation Hope

Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute

Part of the Solution

Robin Hood Foundation

SCO Family of Services

United American Healthcare Corp.

United Auto Workers Locals

PUBLIC SECTOR

American Museum of Natural History

Bronx Terminal Market

Brooklyn Bridge Park Dev. Corp.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Dev. Corp.

Federal Hall National Memorial

Federal Reserve Bank

Flushing Community Library

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK

General Services Administration

Hudson River Park Trust

Hudson Senior Center

Irish Arts Center

Lower Manhattan Dev. Corp.

Luxembourg Permanent Mission to

the United Nation

Midwood Public Library

National Parks Service

NY Capital Defender’s Office

NY Harbor Conservancy

NY Metropolitan Trans. Council

NYC DCAS

NYC Police Dept.

NYC Dept. of Design + Construction

NYC Economic Dev. Corp.

NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat

Domestic Violence

NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission

NYS Banking Dept.

NYS Dept. of Audit & Control

NYS Dept. of Health

NYS Dept. of Housing & Community

NYS Dept. of Insurance

NYS Dept. of Labor

NYS Dept. of Motor Vehicles

NYS Dept. of Public Svc. Commission

NYS Dept. of State

NYS Dept. of Taxation & Finance

NYS Dept. of Transportation

NYS Division of Budget

NYS Division of Parole

NYS Office of Child & Family Svcs.

NYS Office of Comptroller

NYS Office of General Services

NYS Office of Temporary & Disability

Assistance

NYS Office of the Inspector General

NYS Strategic Plan

NYS Workers’ Compensation Board

Olana State Historic Site

Port Authority of NY & NJ

SCO Family of Services

Staten Island Family Justice Center

UNICEF

United Nations Dev. Corp.

UN Office of Project Services

US Dept. of State

ACADEMIC

Baldwin Union Free High School

Brooklyn STEAM Center

Carnegie Mellon

Chapin School

Columbia University

Cooper Union

Henry Viscardi School

Hewlett-Woodmere School District

Hewitt School

Learning Project Charter School

Long Island School District

New Heights Charter School

NYC Dept. of Education

New York University

Oyster Bay E. Norwich School District

Pace University

Pacific Park Middle School

Port Washington USFD

Reisenbach Charter School

School Construction Authority

The School of Visual Arts

St. John’s University

University of Pennsylvania

Urban Peace Academy

Vernon Middle School

W. Hempstead School District

William Paterson University

FASHION/RETAIL

Avon

Bonpoint

Carolina Herrera

Cort Furniture

Cremieux

David Meister

Donna Karan Company

Dualstar

Edelman Leather

Edun

Ellen Tracy

Foundrae

Graff

Global Brands Group

Hermès of Paris

Kellwood

Komar Brands

Ladurée

LF USA

Li & Fung

Liz Claiborne

Marchon Eyewear

Mulberry

Nine West Company

Polo Ralph Lauren

Track & Field

HOSPITALITY

Aquavit

Joe’s Pub

L’Ami Pierre

Ladurée

Padrona

Pret A Manger

She Wolf Bakery

Talbott + Arding

Worldbar

Abrams Books New York, NY