Known for creating captivating retail spaces for the likes of Acne Studios, Axel Arigato and Toteme, Stockholm-based design practice Halleröd turn their attention to commercial interiors for this slick office project in New York. Located on the 16th floor, the team gutted the entire space from the reception to the bathrooms.
Certain design elements are present throughout the entire interior, such as blue motifs ranging in tone and intensity from luminous cobalt joinery to brushed silk carpet. However, each room has its own character and defining element. For example, the reception desk is made of high gloss, glazed lava stone, while the executive bathrooms feature natural marble with blue tones and a blue enamelled sink.
“Inside the executive office with wooden panels, you can totally change the character of the room by closing the window niches with the curtains which gives the room a surreal atmosphere,” says Christian Halleröd.
A reference to Rietveld’s colour combinations, the individual offices feature elements such as the blue silk carpet with bold red accent decor to contrast and complement. Noteworthy furniture items to be spied throughout the interior include Jeanneret seating, Nakashima’s Conoid Chair and Noguchi lamps. Timber panelling adds an old-world element of corporate sophistication, while the abundance of contemporary and textured materials prevents the space from feeling anywhere near stuffy. Adding to this, wispy linen curtains soften the overall feel, while still letting natural light to seep through the windows.
Halleröd had to manage differences in precision and tolerance between the existing structure, aiming to be kept as raw as possible, combined with the millimetre precision of new millwork that was executed in Germany and shipped over to New York. From start to finish the project took two years, which is a longer time frame than Halleröd usually works with. No doubt the end result will please the client’s office employees. And those of us with OCD tendencies.