CannonDesign Transforms the Interiors of a Former Newspaper Building into Modern Tech Offices

Back in 1878, when the West was still wild and the U.S. had only 38 states, Joseph Pulitzer, a self-made Hungarian immigrant, acquired two struggling Missouri newspapers and merged them into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which has been publishing ever since. In 1959, the paper moved its newsroom and printing plant into a 1930 art deco-style building by prominent local architects Mauran, Russell and Crowell for another, now-defunct news daily. The Post-Dispatch sold the building in 2018 and now occupies smaller facilities nearby.

Today, after a $70 million overall makeover, the building houses 850 employees of Square and Cash App, two divisions of Block, Inc., the high-tech financial services and digital payments company. The staff had previously been working in three different locations, and the corporation’s primary objective was to centralize this workforce in one user-friendly space.

Now based in San Francisco, Block was founded in St. Louis in 2009 by two natives of the Gateway City: Jack Dorsey (also a co-founder of Twitter) and Jim McKelvey, a tech-head, entrepreneur, and glass artist. To create its new Missouri digs, the company hired CannonDesign, one of the nation’s largest architectural firms.

Block was clear about its remit for the 225,000-square-foot building, which comprises six stories and two basement levels: “The client was looking to create a home for its employees,” reports project director Ken Crabiel, vice president and commercial and civic market leader at Cannon’s St. Louis office. “A place where they could be connected with one another in a variety of ways.” Like a home, the plan called for a series of connected spaces, both large and small, public and private, to accommodate multiple activities.

The large spaces include three multilevel atria that connect to the more intimate areas by a series of interior staircases. Employees can choose to work at a traditional desk or on a sofa or lounge chair, and meetings can range from intimate tête-à-têtes to company-wide confabs in the vast all-hands area. The building can accommodate up to 1,200 workers, so Block has room to grow in place. (Currently, most employees are free to work from home or in the office, as they choose.)

In a project-defining move, the original newspaper printing press has been left in place—a steampunkish behemoth that stretches roughly 80 feet along the ground floor. Project designer and Cannon associate Olivia Gebben is especially enamored of the small basement-level lounge spaces tucked among the massive steel columns and beams that support the machinery above. “In these lounges, you can look up and literally touch the buttons and wheels that made the presses tick,” she enthuses.

“It’s hard to overestimate the role that press has in the collective memory of St. Louis,” Crabiel observes, noting that the machinery was clearly visible behind large street-level windows. “People used to come to watch the presses cranking out the paper. Nowadays the use of the building may be different, but you can still see activity in and around the press through those same windows, especially at night.”

The renovation also preserved a spiral staircase, much of Pulitzer’s office, and areas of decorative terrazzo flooring. Otherwise, floors throughout are the original concrete, with all their evolved patina showing. “We just refinished them with a low-grit polish,” Gebben notes. Adaptive reuse is nothing new to Cannon, which operates its St. Louis practice out of a similarly gutted and reinvented 1928 power station. “We’re fortunate to have a lot of that kind of building stock in our city,” Crabiel acknowledges. “And much of it is getting new life.”

The interior program was intentionally kept timeless, both natural and neutral. “We featured exposed concrete and natural oak against a lot of black and white,” Gebben says. “The bright blue printing press is a huge presence, so we didn’t add much color.” Most of the color, in fact, comes from numerous art installations.

“Art is in the DNA of our company,” says Jay Scheinman, Block’s global municipal affairs lead. “Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey came up with the idea of Square when Jim couldn’t complete the sale of one of his glass pieces because he didn’t have the ability to take a credit card.” In keeping with this strong connection to art, a contest was run for local artists to come up with pieces reflecting the company’s mission of economic empowerment. The 10 winning entries are now incorporated into the fabric of the building. Third Degree Glass Factory, founded by McKelvey in a reclaimed 1920’s service station, devised a striking ceiling installation—a constellation of suspended vitreous globes—for the third-to-fourth-floor atrium. “The blue color is as close a match to the press as possible,” Crabiel explains. “And the individual handblown ‘bubbles’ are meant to represent ink droplets.”

“So often in design, you look at the physical form and can see the connections between the original building and the renovation,” Crabiel continues. “But sometimes there’s an underlying philosophical connection, too.” Pulitzer believed that providing information enabled readers to make responsible choices. “Block is centered on the same principle,” the architect says, “and we wanted that notion to have a presence in the new iteration of the Post-Dispatch building.”

Cannon­Design: Ken Crabiel; Olivia Gebben, michael bonomo; nicole andreu; kevin zwick; elise novak; enge sun; melissa pirtle; stephen gantner; carmen ruiz cruz; kelsey mack; heather rosen; michelle rotherham; rita radley; brendan smith; jocelyn wildman; alex oliver; alyssa packard; barrett newell

trivers architecture: architect of record

mcclure engineering: MEP

KPFF Consulting Engineers: Structural Engineer

tarlton corp.: general contractor

Andreu World: café tables (all hands)

davis: chairs

ofs: high tables

coalesce: stools

flos: lighting system

plyboo: paneling (all hands, atrium 2)

knollstudio: chairs (game room)

gestalt: side tables (game room, lounge area 1)

kasthall: rugs (lounge areas)

Hay: sofa (lounge area 1), side chairs (terrace)

ecosense: pendant fixture (conference room)

tretford: carpet

herman miller: side chairs (con­ference room), task chairs (office area)

stylex: sofa (lounge area 2)

bernhardt: coffee table (lounge area 2), side tables (atrium 1), ottomans (atrium 2)

modloft: lounge chairs (atrium 1)

mafi: stairs, flooring (atria)

poe: storefront systems

Janus et Cie: tables (terrace)

Paola Lenti: lounge chairs

kettal: side tables, lounger

landscape forms: benches

pair: workstations (office area)

fine mod imports: lounge chairs

de padova: coffee tables

anthropologie: rug

focal point: pendant fixtures

Interface: carpet tile

woodtech: café tables (atrium 2)

Fredericia: side chairs

resident: sofa

vitra: lounge chairs

Ethnicraft: coffee table

vibia: floor lamp

growing green: planters

ppg industries: paint

Dufner Heighes Transforms a Historic House in Pelham, New York into a Modern Family Home

Flip back a page, please. Now, kick up your feet, relax—here, have a cocktail—and observe this intriguing wood-paneled room: the resolutely leafy view, that groovy triangular window, the serene quiet, the vintage-heavy furniture scheme. Bet you think this is the living room of some cozy ’70’s-mod cabin on a remote rural plot, right? Well, surprise! In fact, this is the second-floor sitting room of a painstakingly preserved century-old Edwardian-style manse within shouting distance (although please don’t; the baby’s sleeping) of the Bronx.

Dufner Heighes was the firm tasked with future-proofing the historic Pelham, New York, house for a growing family. The 7,100-square-foot dwelling has an intriguing back story. Previous owners include the island nation of Barbados, which used it as an embassy, and a Coca-Cola executive who frequently hosted President Eisenhower there back in the 1950s. Another head of state, George Washington, reportedly stayed on the property, too, in a structure that once stood on this abode’s exact footprint. That provenance piqued the interest of Erica Holborn, CEO of Sandow Design Group (Interior Design’s parent company) and a self-professed real-estate enthusiast. “I’m a house-with-a-story person,” she admits.

When Holborn and her husband, Andrew, first saw the property listing, they deemed the eight-bedroom too big for their needs. Fast forward a year later. Their Dufner Heighes–designed Sutton Place apartment was getting a bit too snug for their expanding family (especially with WFH in the mix), and their upstate getaway, a 1970’s A-frame designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégés, was too far from the city for full-time residency. Plus, the Holborns got an offer on the latter that they couldn’t refuse. So when the price dropped on the Pelham place around the same time, they finally took a look—and were sold.

Among the structure’s many attributes was that it had been pristinely restored, from the oak millwork to the original hardware. “It was a perfect situation, because the previous owners had updated a few things, like the kitchen, but restored everything else—stripping layers of paint off moldings and all that stuff no one wants to deal with,” notes Daniel Heighes Wismer, firm copartner with Greg Dufner. In short, it was practically turnkey. Early site visits suggested the project would be primarily decorative and cosmetic: reupholstering some existing furnishings, buying new items to fill in a few gaps, replacing antique light fixtures with more modern designs, updating cabinetry, hanging artwork. Midway through planning the new kitchen, however, it became apparent the current footprint was underscaled for the size of the house and had an awkward, dinky island unsuited to cooking and dining. “During one of our meetings with the team from Bilotta, with whom we were designing the kitchen,” Wismer recalls, “someone questioned whether we could tear down a wall to annex the adjoining butler’s pantry—and that changed everything,” necessitating plumbing and electrical rerouting plus new structural steel. “My dream has always been to have a butler’s pantry,” Holborn sighs. “And then I finally buy a house with one—and promptly take it out!”

The monthslong renovation was well worth it. The new scheme is much brighter and airier, with a long Arabescato Corchia marble island that seats four, plus a window-wrapped breakfast nook. Dufner Heighes deployed two patterns of Artistic Tile terrazzo flooring, one incorporating marble chips, to create area rug–like accents that delineate spatial zones. Shaker-style cabinetry is simpatico with the period architecture yet modern enough to suit the décor. The same flooring and cabinetry also extend into an adjacent space, a former family room that now serves as a storage-packed mudroom.

The reinvention of a living space as service-oriented hub made sense, given the floorplan already offered a generous number of hangout areas, including the ground-floor salon and contiguous sunroom, a second-floor playroom for two-year-old Marlowe and baby Bodhi, a sitting room off the primary suite, and the family and game rooms that anchor the daylit basement level. “The challenge,” Dufner says, “was how to make each living space feel like it had a unique function and purpose.” Seating in particular was selected with specific activities and postures in mind. Thus the salon’s more upright Bob sectional, its firm, snakelike form perfect for perching with a glass of wine; the sunroom’s more lounge-y Bouroullec Brothers Ploum sofa, a holdover from the upstate house (albeit newly reupholstered); and the super deep, nap-conducive sofa in the family room, where TV viewing occurs.

Though the house has a traditional layout, with discrete rooms, they open graciously onto each other, and curating sight lines was particularly important. Many features were considered holistically so they would work together from room to room. On the first floor, for instance, “there are points where you can see the ceiling fixtures in the sunroom, living room, entry hall, and the dining room all at once,” Wismer explains. “So the lighting we specified all needed to work within their respective rooms and also as a cohesive group.” Furniture and other accents were chosen and placed similarly, he adds. “There was a balancing of where we could go a little wild and where something had to be toned down so it wouldn’t get too heavy or layered.”

Speaking of going a little wild, check out the dining room wallpaper. The pattern, a trippy graphic confection in riotous hues, tents the room, extending up from crisp wainscoting lacquered a mercurial green-gray color. The op art patterning is the perfect jazz riff on the abode’s 1914 bones. “The contrast between historic and modern is just so great,” says Wismer. A sentiment that summarizes the project top to bottom.

knoll: sofa

dunbar: side table

design for macha: ceiling fixture

through noguchi shop: floor lamp

garrett leather: armchair shearling

kvadrat: side chair fabric

blå station through scandinavian spaces: sofa

house of finn juhl: chairs

Gubi: coffee table

aronson’s: rug

bd barcelona through ddc: green side table.

Fredericia: daybed

lawson-fenning: vessels

bilotta: cabinetry

Artistic Tile: flooring

seungjin yang through the future perfect: pink stool

Blu Dot: yellow ottoman

through noguchi shop: pendant

Louis Poulsen: pendants

voutsa: wallpaper

e15 through stillfried wien: table

Carl Hansen & Son: chairs

iittala through fiskars group: glass birds

bd barcelona through ddc: credenza

aronson’s: rug

mitchell gold + bob williams: sofa

aronson’s: rug

Carl Hansen & Son: Lounge

Blu Dot: side table

through john derian: artwork

ligne roset: sofa

iacoli: coffee table

CB2: side table

Artistic Tile: flooring, counters

bilotta: cabinetry

Carl Hansen & Son: chairs, stools

e15 through stillfried wien: table

Louis Poulsen: pendants

casey johnson studio: custom table

Blu Dot: ottoman

through john derian: flowers

aj madison: appliances

lee jofa: wallpaper

through design within reach: rocking chair

dunbar: sofa

house of finn juhl: coffee table

floyd: shelving

stokke: crib

rejuvenation: ceiling fixture

nessen lighting: gold lamp

&tradition: coffee table, ottoman

Carl Hansen & Son: green lounge chair

mitchell gold + bob williams: sofa

aronson’s: rug

kvadrat: mama bear chair fabric

zak & fox: club chair fabric

design for macha: ceiling fixture

michael robbins: bench

lawson-fenning: bed

once milano: quilt

aronson’s: rug

flavor paper: wallpaper

Gubi: mirror

visual comfort through circa lighting: table lamps (sitting room, dining room, family room, bedroom); ceiling pendant (living room, dining room, foyer); floor lamps (living room, nursery); reading lamp (living room)

through furniture from scandinavia: items from fredericia, house of finn juhl, gubi, carl hansen & sØn, louis poulsen, and &tradition

16 Furnishing Highlights from 3daysofdesign 2021 in Copenhagen

More than three days could easily be consumed to fully embrace 3daysofdesign 2021, held in Copenhagen this month—despite a global pandemic. In showrooms, galleries, and special event spaces around the city, there was no shortage of freshly launched furnishings, with much of the industry flying in directly from the Milan Furniture Fair. Once again the seemingly effortless ethos of Scandinavian design shined (or rather, was painstakingly hand-waxed to a soft touch, as one table collection is).

From a surprising candle holder met with much fanfare to a kit embracing 1970s electronics nostalgia to a round and layered easy chair and more than a few designs dusted off from the archives of Danish design masters, here are 16 furnishings that caught our eye at 3daysofdesign 2021.

Interconnect Candle Holder by Colin King Studio for Menu

A pronounced geometric celebration of a single candle that makes for an unorthodox center piece, the Interconnect Candle Holder by Colin King Studio for Menu is available in brass or painted steel.

Beogram 4000-series Service Upgrade Kit from Bang & Olufsen

Nostalgia for the 1970s is great..until you try hooking up the speakers. What if you could upgrade a record player half a century old with current tech? “We see e-waste climbing at a large scale,” said Kresten Bjørn Krab-Bjerre, creative director of design at Bang & Olufsen as he presented the electronic’s company’s Beogram 4000-series Service Upgrade Kit. With the kit, a vintage Beogram turntable1, introduced in the 1970s, can be restored and connected to a modern sound system.

Easy Chair by Verner Panton for Verpan

Plush and layered round shapes determine the geometry of Easy Chair by Verner Panton, designed in 1963. Now the sculptural, fully-upholstered chair returns to production, thanks to the archives of Verpan, the licensed manufacturer of designs by the Danish architect and designer.

Adesso by Josefine Winding for Gubi

Adesso, a limited-edition series of six cast-concrete side tables by Josefine Winding in collaboration with Gubi and available through Arden Asbæk Gallery, premiered among 15 sculptures, also by Winding, in the exhibition “Adesso: In the Moment.” A portion of the tables’ proceeds will be donated to charity SOS Children’s Villages through MyFoundation.

Jari Low by OEO Studio for Brdr. Krüger

Initially designed for Inua, world-renowned Copenhagen restaurant Noma’s Tokyo outpost, solid oak Jari low tables by OEO Studio can be shipped flat-packed. “The idea was tables as low as possible that could break down an otherwise slightly hard environment with organic and soft shapes,” says Jonas Krüger, creative director and co-owner of Brdr. Krüger, the 5th generation, family-owned manufacturer of the tables. “The different sizes can adapt to any seating setting, singled out or in clusters.” The tables are hand-waxed for a soft touch and available in six variations, from small side table to large elliptical.

Space Invaders by Luca Nichetto for Stellar Works

Stacked supersized Murano glass beads form the blown glass and steel Dhala table lamp in the new Space Invaders collection by Luca Nichetto for Stellar Works. The collection also includes an additional lamp and two trays.

Oxford by Fritz Hansen

Working from home during the global pandemic had many pining for that rare find: a comfortable, ergonomic home office chair that’s not ugly. In steps Fritz Hansen with the Oxford task chair. Initially conceived by Arne Jacobsen for professors at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, England, the chair returns updated with modern necessities like increased lumbar support, adjustable seat, and angled armrests that tuck under a desk.

Imi by Sebastian Herkner for Pulpo

Handmade ceramic side table Imi by Sebastian Herkner for Pulpo is a colorful, shiny, and round tribute to German minimal artist Imi Knoebel. Two sizes are offered in several color combinations.

Barnum pouf by Vipp

Six-piece construction adds sculptural beauty to the versatile Pouf—be it seat, footrest, or side table—from Vipp. On the occasion of 3daysofdesign and to take full advantage of a one-of-a-kind showroom space in a century-old former pencil factory, Vipp also launched its own dining experience. An initiative to engage with the local community, Vipp Supper Club will highlight diverse chefs. First in line is Italian chef Riccardo Canella, formerly research and development sous chef at Noma.

Watercolour by Lykke Bloch Kjær

Watercolor paintings by Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl inspired the hues found in the Watercolour textile collection by Lykke Bloch Kjær for House of Finn Juhl. Locally woven by Danish weaver Kjellerup Væveri, the collection is available in 32 shades in a wool-cotton blend. Shown is Juhl’s Reading dining chair, upholstered in Blue Bonnet.

Front desk by Pedro Sottomayor for Mor

Designer Pedro Sottomayor, founder of Mor, a new Portuguese furniture brand embracing simplicity, chose a sunny Copenhagen apartment for its entry into the global market. Two nearly invisible drawers and cable storage are integrated into the slim lines of the Front desk, also by Sottomayor. Available in various sizes in solid ash, oak, or walnut, the desk can be used for home office or hotel reception.

Konami by Damian Williamson for Fredericia

The inner armrests of Damian Williamson’s upholstered Konami sofa for Fredericia softly curve inward like a ‘little wave’—hence its Japanese name, which means the same.

Recycled Noah by Trimm

For Recycled Noah, a collection of indoor lounge furniture, manufacturer Trimm Copenhagen deep dives into sustainability. Washable, zero waste, 100 percent recycled textile in earth-tones is paired with a soft, beaded interior of 100 percent recycled polyester fiber.

OW58 T-Chair by Ole Wanscher for Carl Hansen & Søn

A T-shaped backrest points out the craftsmanship of the OW58 T-Chair by Ole Wanscher for Carl Hansen & Søn. The archival piece, almost an inch higher than the one designed in 1958 to serve a taller humanity, joins the two chairs and a stool by the designer already in production by the manufacturer.

Connect Sofa by Anderssen & Voll for Muuto

Small feet are behind the elegant hover of the wood-framed Connect Sofa by Anderssen & Voll for Muuto. To achieve optimal comfort, a deep, low seat and loose upholstery conceal cold foam filing and cotton wadding.

Twiggy Wood by Marc Sadler for Foscarini

The Twiggy lamp by Marc Sadler for Foscarini earns an update just in time for its 15th birthday. With a honey-hued wood diffuser, carbon fiber stem, and a new LED circuit, Twiggy Wood is warmer in both light source and form.