wieden+kennedy's 50,000 sq.ft new york office space by WORKac

wieden+kennedy’s 50,000 sq.ft new york office space by WORKac
photo © bruce damonte

the design for renowned advertising agency wieden+kennedy‘s 50,000 sq.ft new york office embraces urban density as its motto. conceived by architecture office WORKac, this motto manifests as a minimal compression of individual work areas, which open up room for a gradient of diverse collective spaces. the overall architecture moves away from the ‘office as a playground’, to put work back at the heart of creative endeavors.

in relation to wieden+kennedy’s highly collaborative nature, WORKac designed a wide range of discussion spaces to accommodate meetings and gatherings of varying size, privacy levels, and duration. throughout, teams can choose to hold quick reviews standing up at 10 foot long over-the-counter blackened steel tables, have informal discussions in lounges with comfortable furniture and natural wood floors, or gather in the kitchens for working lunches.

7th floor view of the central coin stair with over-the counter meeting, phone booths, and open office spaces beyond
photo © bruce damonte

photo © bruce damonte

more traditional meetings can be held in conference rooms that range in scale from smaller, intimate ‘phonebooths,’ to ‘picnic-table’ meeting rooms that accommodate up to 10 people to larger, formal ‘widen-long’ conference rooms. glass walls create a sense of lightness and transparency to the space. clusters of these different meeting spaces are organized around groups of 20-25 people in open offices, featuring polished concrete floors.

coin stair and spiral stairs connect all three floors vertically
photo © bruce damonte

a perforated metal spiral staircase connects the 7th and 8th floors, leading to a generous bamboo-clad, library den
photo © bruce damonte

a series of larger collective ‘moments’ are distributed vertically to serve as the connective tissue for the agency. these spaces open up views across the office through circular oculi that create the largest possible openings in the floor slab while minimizing structural impact. connecting the 6th and 7th floors, a circular shaped, walnut-clad ‘coin stair’ features bleacher seating that can accommodate office-wide meetings or informal discussions below a spider-shaped structure that transfers load from a removed column.

neighborhood showing over the counter meeting space, picnic table conference room and open office spaces
photo © bruce damonte

view of over the counter meeting space with a lounge and picnic table meeting room
photo © bruce damonte

photo © bruce damonte

on the 7th floor, inside the office, a large, multi-purpose gym offers additional space for interaction and recreation. the space doubles as a ‘black box’ to accommodate the whole office for lectures or film screenings.

central kitchen space on the 6th floor
photo © bruce damonte

outdoor park as work space
image © raymond adams

to bring the outside in, a double-height space on the 6th and 7th floors is combined with the removal of the existing windows and a new interior storefront to create an outdoor park surrounded by blueberry bushes and visible from the street. completely wired for power, music and wi-fi , employees can use the outdoor space to meet, eat lunch or even take a bi-weekly yoga class.