Commercial Observer describes how HOK designed one workplace that serves the needs of eight companies across 15 floors of a new skyscraper in Lower Manhattan.
Excerpted from Commercial Observer:
How do you build one office space for separate companies? GroupM, the world’s largest advertising firm, was faced with this challenge when it decided to consolidate all of its distinct brands from separate offices in Midtown into a new, 700,000-square-foot headquarters in 3 World Trade Center.
The lead architecture firm, HOK, assigned a different designer to each firm. Tom Polucci, HOK’s director of interior design, said his team found a way to incorporate each company’s branding into their space while developing a consistent aesthetic across all 15 floors of GroupM’s footprint in 3 WTC.
“Our philosophy was, how do we make sure we’re retaining each one of the unique qualities of these brands while making sure we’re designing something that’s flexible and allows GroupM to move and change these spaces over time,” Polucci said.
Although the basic look remains the same across all of GroupM’s subsidiaries, companies could choose to personalize colors in their kitchens, reception areas and meeting rooms. And HOK tried to capture how each firm’s leaders approached the advertising business.
GroupM also equipped the offices with a slew of interesting features, including a two-story amenity space with bleacher-style stairs for meetings, coffee bar, wellness center, game room, career center, tech help desk, grab-and-go food seller, and a landscaped terrace on the 17th floor.