New York, NY
Trinity Real Estate asked us to invigorate and give a fresh identity to a very dated lobby to attract new “hip” tenants appropriate to the changing Hudson Square neighborhood. However they also wanted the design to be “timeless”: appropriate to a client with a long history in Lower Manhattan.
We approached the design as an assembly of minimalist and crisply detailed wall and ceiling surfaces made of timeless materials serving as a backdrop for two dramatic sculptural elements. One is a 40’ long by 8’ high composition of different size slabs of marble, granite, limestone, slate, and metal; bordered with a giant oiled mill steel irregularly shaped finish frame, and hung off a projection on one of two side walls. The second sculptural element is a reception desk comprised of the same materials that appears to grow out of another wall projection, on the opposite wall. The walls behind each are new floor to ceiling (14’ high) horizontally grained limestone. A translucent glowing backlit stretched ceiling membrane creates an even glow throughout the lobby, and is echoed by large new call lanterns above the existing elevator doors. By selectively eliminating window mullions and putting in larger pieces of glass, we created a more open view in and out of the existing entry. Because the entrance doors are recessed from the front of the building, a new stainless steel canopy was designed as a minimalist open frame without a roof, extending out over the sidewalk. New elevator cab interiors also reflected the material palette of the lobby.