Project Description
Faced with escalating rents in their increasingly popular Houston Street neighborhood in New York City, and a rapidly growing roster of employees, leading traffic and transportation planning and engineering firm Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE) decided it was time to relocate to a more affordable space – one that would provide room to grow as a company and inspire a transition to a more collaborative, open work environment. The design of their new space brings the firm’s work to life by incorporating materials from the streets into the office design, creating a kitschy vibe that well reflects SSE’s fun-loving corporate atmosphere. Design elements include a one-of-a-kind reception desk created from railroad ties; a lobby ceiling densely covered in traffic signs; traffic lights used to signal conference room occupancy; silhouettes of pedestrians painted on office walls; and painted stripes on the carpet to create the sense of a roadway in the office’s high traffic areas. To create a more collaborative atmosphere, the few private offices all have glass fronts and exit into the open office area, ensuring all employees are within close proximity to each other. Benching solutions were used to encourage collaboration and allow for flexibility as SSE increases or reduces density. Bench areas are separated by unique sliding cubby units that can be moved closer together to create an extra workspace for a new hire. To stay on budget – while still creating a dynamic, functional space – SSE’s design firm used a variety of alternative design methods, including electrical conduit screens that function as privacy barriers while simultaneously carrying power and data versus running electrical wiring under the floor, and using crates to create “walls” between office areas that also provide storage.