{"id":201315,"date":"2022-10-04T16:21:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T20:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=201315"},"modified":"2022-10-25T12:43:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T16:43:18","slug":"neal-beckstedt-studio-office-design-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/neal-beckstedt-studio-office-design-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Neal Beckstedt Studio Transforms a Beaux-Arts Building into a Modern Office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Custom
Custom sofas and tables join stools and chairs by Alvar Aalto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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October 4, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Michael Lassell<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Stephen Kent Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Neal Beckstedt Studio Transforms a Beaux-Arts Building into a Modern Office<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Ever since Neal Beckstedt opened his eponymous studio in 2010, he\u2019s had the good fortune of working with creative clients like fashion designer Derek Lam and eyewear maven Robert Marc. Another is innovative entrepreneur Albert Sebag, who approached Beckstedt for help with \u201chis office\u201d one day in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought he meant his personal office,\u201d Beckstedt says with a laugh. What Sebag actually had in mind was new headquarters for Guidepoint, the information-age business he founded in 2003. Guidepoint is a matchmaker of sorts, connecting clients, specifically global companies, in need of specialized information with the experts that can provide it. Currently, some 3,500 clients in a broad spectrum of industries\u2014from healthcare to TMT\u2014have at their disposal a network of 1,250,000 authorities for virtual or in-person consultations of practically any size. Almost half of the company\u2019s 1,100 international employees would be based in the facility. What Guidepoint needed from Beckstedt, then, was an open and transparent arrangement of work spaces for clients, advisors, and full-time staff. Efficiency and versatility were stated goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a six-month search, Sebag and Beckstedt<\/a> found the ideal site in Chelsea: the entire 38,000-square-foot second floor of 675 Avenue of the Americas, a landmarked beaux-arts stunner built in 1900 as the Adams Dry Goods department store. \u201cIt was a bit of a mess inside,\u201d the designer acknowledges, \u201cbut it had beautiful columns, high ceilings, and tons of light\u2014all on one level.\u201d That the building incorporated a central atrium also helped with the layout. \u201cMost offices of this scale are worms\u2019 nests of dark corridors; the atrium allowed for a completely open plan flooded with natural light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
Housed in a former department store, Guidepoint\u2019s Chelsea headquarters by Neal Beckstedt Studio features a multifunctional lobby dominated by the building\u2019s original beaux-arts windows, which, along with the exposed brick, date to the early 20th century. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After demolishing the many interior walls and partitions, Beckstedt went about creating a unique config\u00aduration of work zones in a controlled materials palette that invokes Gotham\u2019s loft-conversion aesthetic. \u201cI wanted the design to be straightforward,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s about elevating mundane building materials\u2014 plywood, metal mesh, stainless steel\u2014so the environment is clean and modern with a streamlined element, but still warm and interesting in a way that isn\u2019t boring or overpowering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beckstedt<\/a>\u2019s sense of delight helped raise visual engagement. He left much of the original brick exposed and enlivened the palette of blacks, whites, grays, and beiges with shots of a hot yellow taken from Guidepoint\u2019s logo. The designer even opted to keep a pink wall, daubed with a bit of whim\u00adsical graffiti, which had been revealed when plasterboard was stripped away during demolition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The department store\u2019s original wood flooring still existed, but much of it was not salvageable after more than a century of renovations. The designer repaired the best-preserved parts and installed matching oak elsewhere. The new boards were left uncovered during construction, vulnerable to dings and dents, to speed up development of the \u201cpatina\u201d Beckstedt admires in the old wood. He used LEDs throughout in a variety of applications, suspending tubes from the ceiling to create greater intimacy in some spaces, or surface-mounting them in other areas to mark circulation pathways. He added light-reflecting sheen via bronze-tinted polycarbonate partitions and soffits made of
aluminum mesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also played with exposed edges, like those of the partially removed brick walls in the caf\u00e9, which is also used for large meetings. \u201cTo me those elements are cool,\u201d Beckstedt says. \u201cI mean, why design them away when they look so good?\u201d The designer carried the raw-edge aesthetic into the furniture, opting to leave the unfinished ends of plywood tabletops visible beneath laminate tops and designing a long communal table from reclaimed oak planks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Noise-absorbing
Noise-absorbing foam paneling in one of four podcast studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Most of Beckstedt\u2019s custom pieces are modular, and much of the purchased FF&E is versatile, such as the adjustable-height workstations. He limited the selection of furniture, focusing on familiar mid-century pieces by the likes of Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames<\/a>, and Mies van der Rohe<\/a>. \u201cIt keeps things calm and consistent,\u201d he notes. \u201cSo many offices try so hard to be interesting that they wind up with visual chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beckstedt spent a great deal of his time developing the program, accommodating as many people as Guidepoint needed into the square footage. \u201cThe overall strategy was about being functional, about letting the function become the design,\u201d he explains. \u201cOrnamentation wasn\u2019t going drive it, and that informed every decision, from the layout to not replacing missing sections of the crown molding. This project is about work and the history of the building and the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the lobby, which stretches along a wall of commanding arched windows, is an interactive work space. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a place for people to wait,\u201d Beckstedt says. \u201cIt\u2019s where team members can meet, use laptops, have a quick chat, or just take a break.\u201d In theory and praxis, the genius loci at Guidepoint is connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Custom
Custom sofas and tables join stools and chairs by Alvar Aalto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A felt-clad reception desk stands between an office and a conference room in the CEO suite.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"a
The color of this meeting room, outfitted with custom modular furniture, is derived from Guidepoint\u2019s logo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The training room\u2019s rift-cut white oak bleachers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate panels enclosing meeting booths.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Aluminum
Aluminum metal mesh, stainless steel, and terrazzo in a restroom. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"An
An office\u2019s exposed brick wall with original graffiti found during construction.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"LED
LED ceiling panels, a custom table, and Charles and Ray Eames chairs in the large conference room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Ready
Ready for use on the training room bleachers, custom seat cushions hang on wall pegs like an art installation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Custom
Custom tables in another meeting room are stained plywood with dark-glass tops that double as dry-erase boards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Surface-mounted
Surface-mounted LED tubes on a metal-mesh soffit demarcate a perimeter circulation corridor in the office area. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"White
White oak flooring continues into the caf\u00e9, which features rough-edge brick walls, custom banquettes and tables, and more Aalto chairs and stools.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
facility solutions group<\/span><\/a>: lighting consultant<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
lilker<\/span><\/a>: mep<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hollinger fine cabinetry<\/span><\/a>: woodwork<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
mcnichols<\/span><\/a>: metalwork<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
master\u2019s upholstery<\/span><\/a>: custom furniture workshop<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
b&b contracting group<\/span><\/a>: general contractor<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES From Front<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
savel<\/span><\/a>: sofa fabric (lobby)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
chemetal<\/span><\/a>: coffee table laminate<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
vitra<\/span><\/a>: stools, side chairs (lobby, caf\u00e9)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
fitzfelt<\/span><\/a>: re\u00adception desk felt (ceo suite)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
through merit<\/span><\/a>: vintage desk<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Patterson Flynn<\/span><\/a>: rugs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
empire office<\/span><\/a>: conference chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
knoll\u00adtextiles<\/span><\/a>: armchair fabric (ceo suite), cushion fabric (training room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
dwr<\/span><\/a>: armchairs (ceo suite), chairs (podcast studio, large conference room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
polygal<\/span><\/a>: enclosure system (booths)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
pinta acoustic<\/span><\/a>: paneling (podcast studio)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Kohler<\/span><\/a>: sink fittings (restroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
knoll<\/span><\/a>: workstations, task chairs (office, office area)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
bernhardt; camira fabrics; designtex; febrik; hbf textiles; luum textiles; maharam; pollack<\/span><\/a>: cushion fabric (training room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
THROUGHOUT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
ann sacks<\/span><\/a>: floor tile<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
stark<\/span><\/a>: carpet<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
laminart<\/span><\/a>: tabletop laminate<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
bartco; coronet; delray lighting; liteline<\/span><\/a>: lighting<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
benjamin moore & co.<\/span><\/a>: paint<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
MetroWall<\/span><\/a>: Glass partitions<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n